Optimal Outcome
by MichaelSaniyan
Summary: Kyouko is a teacher with Homura as her closest friend. Madoka spends more time with Mami than with anyone else. Sayaka is neglecting normal life in general and Hitomi is struggling with a dead-end relationship. Witches aren't exactly top priority anymore.
1. Common Ground

**AN: 9/5-11 EDIT: Outdated author's note changed to properly introduce people to the actual story. The rest of the AN's will remain unchanged. **

**Occasionally OOC characters, specifically Homura and Mami for in context obvious reasons. Mostly canon, exception being vague things such as the healing/regeneration system of the Puella Magi.**

**Story read and approved by Chao Heartless. (FF user Chaotrix)**

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><p>"What are you doing in there?" Homura mainly wanted to express her irritation through the question, so maybe it was just as well that she didn't get an answer. What she did get was the slamming of cupboards and the crackling of snack bags.<p>

Some odd minutes later, Kyouko came out the kitchen, carrying a mountain of energy drinks, chips and cookies coupled with some fruit. Homura just stared at her with an eyebrow raised, saying nothing.

With several thuds and crunches, the food got dumped all over the low wooden table. Kyouko puffed happily, put her hands on her hips and beamed at her guest.

"Help yourself." She said before flopping onto the opposite end of the caramel-colored couch where Homura was sitting, pushing her long red bangs out of her eyes. She snatched a bag of crisps from the pile on the table and opened it with a pop. Hesitantly, the black-haired girl reached for an apple.

"…thanks. Would you mind telling me why you invited me here? Last time I checked, the two of us weren't exactly friends." Taking a bite out of the juicy red fruit, Homura glanced out the window. It was late afternoon, the sun painted the sky in a slue of purple colors, and the time traveler once again found herself wondering if this would be the one.

****-I-** **

She had grown very fond of this timeline. Mami hadn't died like in the previous one, and Homura had at first feared that she would once again push Madoka into making the contract. But as it was, Mami had been badly injured by some witch as some point. It had graced her Soul Gem with one of its attacks, sending Mami into a coma.

Things were all sad and melancholic for weeks, and Kyuubei took what he could from the situation and convinced Sayaka to defend Mami's territory while she was recovering, by becoming a Puella Magi.

"_Without someone to take her place, this area will soon be overrun by witches._" he said. Of course, he didn't mention that it would also be overrun by _other _Puella Magi.

The heartless creature then proceeded to explain that the attack had chipped off an actual piece of Mami's soul from the exposed gem, and that when she would woke up (it was apparently "when", not "if"), she might not be the same person she had been before.

Homura couldn't care less, she was thrilled to see Madoka so deterred from the idea of becoming a Puella Magi, and it was always good to have everyone alive.

Then, out of nowhere: Kyouko Sakura. Somehow, she had found out about Mami's condition and was there to claim the territory as her own. The usual Kyouko vs. Sayaka scenario played out, but with a new twist: Kyouko decided to cooperate with the righteous Sayaka, in exchange for her getting a large portion of the Grief Seeds. Again, Homura was worried, but the situation worked out the best way possible: Sayaka got to save her precious citizens without burning herself out completely, she learned to fight properly from someone more experienced, and Kyouko got her Seeds.

Then came the big finale. Kyouko got to know Madoka and Sayaka as friends, and Homura as an ally. Around that time, Mami awoke from her coma. Things could've gotten ugly, if not for the fact that the blonde couldn't fight anymore. It was her reaction time and all-round awareness that had been lost, and there was no way she could go back to hunting again.

Mami changed. It was not a dramatic process in any way, the group just saw less and less of her as the days passed, and everyone knew that something was wrong. Madoka became almost as rare of a sight, and Sayaka explained that the kind girl was trying to take care of Mami. The blonde had apparently discovered some of the darker perks of having a quote-on-quote "indestructible" body.

As Sayaka was always off with Kyouko, Homura became an even lonelier lone wolf. This was such a ideal timeline, so much so that she had decided to befriend the group again. The monumental task of beating the Walpurgisnacht without Madoka finally seemed possible. It probably shouldn't have mattered to Homura that she spent most of her time by herself. But it did. So when Kyouko asked her to come over to her place, Homura swallowed her pride and went.

****-I-** **

"You just seemed so very lonely, someone had to take pity on you." Kyouko said in a mocking tone, shuffling crispy potato slices into her mouth.

"How noble. Why don't I believe you?" Homura finished up her apple and looked around for a trash can in which to throw the core, didn't find one, and threw it back into the pile of Kyouko's food. The redhead didn't seem to mind.

"Oh c'mon, Homura. Is it that unlikely that I felt like inviting a friend's friend's friend over just for kicks and giggles?"

"Yes."

"You hurt my feelings, girl." Kyouko chuckled before throwing the now empty bag on the floor, where it joined its brethren. Her apartment was littered with remnants of her meals: bottles, packs and bags everywhere. It was too bad, it was a nice apartment. Homura briefly considered asking how she had been able to get a hold of a place like this, but realized that she didn't care all that much.

"You seem oddly carefree." Homura instead pointed out. It was not unusual for her fellow Puella Magi to be cheerful, but it was often enough a prickly sort of mood. The redhead would brim with sarcasm, spouting jokes and occasional profanities.

"Why wouldn't I be?" A crackling was heard as a pack of chocolate chip cookies met its end at the hands of the voracious beast.

"How is the witch hunting going?" Homura asked for lack of anything better to say.

"Quite well, now that little miss heroine can hold her own in a battle. Sometimes I regret accepting your deal, she's a piece of work."

"Don't complain, you love bossing over Sayaka. Besides, people like her aren't supposed to be Puella Magi."

"I couldn't agree more, but what can you do 'bout it? Kyuubei isn't exactly selective."

The conversation continued, mostly touching on random topics about their lives together with the other three girls. They spent an impressive amount of time trashing both Sayaka and Mami, even if the latter received some praise for her skill and firepower, along with some _extremely _halfhearted sympathy.

Kyouko wasn't that bad, Homura realized. They were both very defensive, but in very different ways, so they had a hard time getting along.

Eventually and inevitably, silence filled the small apartment room, only broken by the crunching and slurping of cookies and orange juice, respectively. The setting sun outside lit specks of dust on fire, and they happily swirled around the room, showing off their glowing qualities to the two quiet girls. It was not an unpleasant silence, as neither of the two felt the need to fill it.

Homura was about to call it a day and leave, when Kyouko chucked a plastic bottle across the room. It hit the wall with a hollow _dunk _and rolled off into a corner. Through the seemingly random action, the fanged girl came to a silent decision.

"You like Madoka, don'tcha?"

"W-what?" The question was so out of the blue that Homura flinched. She didn't have to look to see Kyouko grinning at her reaction. She _felt _it.

"Madoka. Short-ish, pink hair. Fiddly and nervous demeanor."

"Don't play dumb. What the hell are you talking about?" There was a short moment when Homura thought that the question had been just a stab in the dark, and that she would easily be able to deny the sudden claim. But alas…

"I've seen you. Following her around all the time." The explanation was painfully valid. Homura shadowed Madoka from time to time, just to make sure nothing happened to her. Not so much anymore though, Homura had heard enough of Madoka whispering consoling words to Mami, had seen of enough of the two close together in a dimly lit room. Maybe it was during the last few excursions that she'd been careless. It didn't matter.

Kyouko had already come to her conclusion, there was no way to avoid or deny it. Homura knew this, and said nothing, despite it feeling like she was going to burst with indignation. Kyouko raised her crumb-covered hands in a defensive gesture, though still with her characteristic grin.

"Hey, I'm not a prejudiced gal. It's very cute, how you're always looking out for her…"

"Kyouko…" The thought of freezing time and beating the smiling girl to a bloody pulp was _very_ tempting to Homura.

"…and I just wanted to ask you why."

"What?" Homura had completely lost her composure, and wasn't sure how to react anymore. Kyouko shrugged her shoulders in a seemingly uninterested way and started picking at something stuck between two of her flawlessly white teeth.

"I was just…wondering, yeah? I know you're friends and all, but for you to be…ya know, in love with her-"

"I'm not!…" Homura blurted out on pure reflex. Kyouko gave her an amused eye, and received a murderous glare in return.

"All I want to know is…why? Even as friends, you two don't seem that familiar with each other. How come you care for her so much?" The whole situation was absurd. They couldn't be here right now, talking about this. Homura wouldn't accept it.

"If all you're doing is make fun of me, why should I talk about this with you? Thanks for the…food." With that, Homura got up and brushed off something non-existent from her school uniform. Kyouko, leisurely dressed in a T-shirt one size too big and faded short pants, yawned loudly and sprawled out in her couch corner.

"I had hoped you'd stay a little longer." she said in a neutral tone. Her guest ignored her and headed for the door. Homura took a detour around a particularly sketchy pile of trash and reached for the door handle. Then, in the same neutral tone:

"I'm in love with Sayaka."

The reason for Kyouko's strangely serious question became clear, and Homura froze. _Seriously? _The one word echoed inside her head._ Out of all your new acquaintances, you choose me to talk to about your love problems? Seriously?_

"So?"

Kyouko stared at the opposite wall emptily, as if contemplating if she should've said anything at all. But then she laughed to herself, picked up an opened pack of Pockys from the table and took one of the sticks between index and middle finger, like one would a cigarette. The snack soon found its way to her lips.

"So. Would you rather head home than hear what I have to say? You can bash me as much as you want, promise." Homura sighed deeply, hand hovering over the handle. _Would it be that bad? _she thought. _To just shrug off this damn shell for one afternoon? _After more or less five seconds of feeling like she would split in two, she returned to her corner of Kyouko's couch.

"I agreed to your deal for two reasons. Firstly, you seemed very adamant about reaching an agreement. You can be pretty scary…I mean, persuasive, ya know. But more importantly, the more I ran into Sayaka, the more I realized that she made me feel…"

"Funny inside?" Homura smirked and took another bite out of yet another apple. Kyouko apparently had a soft spot for the red fruit.

"Okay, I deserved that. But no, she made me angry. Infuriated. All of us have been naive girls who want to save the world at one point or another. So I thought that I would help her. Primarily to fight, of course, but also give her some general pointers. Realize that you can't help everyone, for example."

"That must've gone over well." Homura knew very well how incredibly stubborn Sayaka was. She chuckled at Kyouko's look of "duh" and nodded in understanding.

"She didn't trust me at all at first. Understandable, I came close to killing her a good ten, twelve times that first day. It was great, much more fun than killing creepy ol' witches. Of course we did that too, mostly at night."

"At night? That must've been why…" Homura recalled that Sayaka had been absent from school a lot. When she did show up, she had slept through most of their classes. The most important reaction was predictable: Madoka worried, Homura-chan factual and lecturing, Madoka reluctantly acceptant.

"Hey, she insisted. I had to force her home some days when she just wasn't fit for fight. Gotta love that reckless devotion." _Yes, praise the trait that cost you your life. _It was hard for Homura, ignoring everything she knew. Ignorance was beyond bliss under these conditions.

"Anyhow, I like to think we make a good team. Even if she's awfully snarky with me, I think she's grateful for my help. But I recently realized that there was something more. I still…oh hell, look at that. It's almost dark out there."

It _was_ almost dark. Pieces of deep orange sun could still be seen between two shimmering buildings, and the sky was flaring with color. Ever-so-observant Homura had noticed the time, but had decided not to interrupt the enthusiastic Kyouko.

"You have something to do?" asked the black-haired girl, somewhat disappointed. She had made up her mind: This was going to be the winning run. The final timeline. And she was tired of just standing around acting puppet master.

"Nope. I just thought you would want to be on your way. Though…" The pack that had previously been filled with chocolate-coated biscuit sticks lay empty on the floor. "I don't mind you staying a while longer."

"It's rude to leave in the middle of a story." Homura stated, and performed the mental equivalent of rolling her eyes. Kyouko wanted her to stay, but she would never admit it. So she would stay. Final timeline. No worries.

"Suit yourself." the redhead mumbled, as if it didn't matter either way, but she was practically transparent with excitement. "Like I was saying, I still get so angry at Sayaka. When she makes even the tiniest mistake, I get furious and yell at her."

"And you think you're in love with her because of this?" There was some scorn in Homura's voice, which only seemed to fire Kyouko up even more. She scooted closer to Homura, red eyes glowing with conviction and determination.

"I want to protect her from everything and make sure nothing ever happens to her. But that would be impossible, so I do what I can. I teach her how to avoid getting hurt. Isn't that why you follow Madoka around, because you want to protect her? Then isn't that what our love is?"

"I guess…" _Was it really that simple? _Homura Akemi wondered. The role of guardian, the feeling of wanting to protect the person you cherish the most in the entire world...was that their common idea of love?

Thankfully, as the room was filling up with way too much philosophical tension, Kyouko became Kyouko again.

"And I don't know if you've noticed, but Sayaka isn't exactly ugly, if you know what I mean." The wolf-like girl's teeth were almost luminescent in the suddenly a lot darker room. Homura looked around for some kind of light source, but didn't find any. It wasn't really necessary, as the red dusk light made everything fairly visible.

"I don't care how 'not ugly' she is, she's loud and obnoxious. You two are perfect for each other." _Might as well play along, _thought Homura and picked out a random beverage from the pile.

"I don't think the girl who has the hots for someone who looks like twelve should talk." There was quite the hilarious sound as previously mentioned beverage was spat everywhere. Homura was coughing violently and Kyouko was literally writhing with laughter.

"Wha…what did you say?"

"Oh my god…your face was priceless!" Tears of laughter glittered in the sparing light from the city outside. "And the fact that you were drinking while…it was like something out of a movie! C'mon, you can't deny that I'm right…"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Homura wiped her mouth and nose with her sleeve, mentally telling herself never to eat or drink anything when Kyouko was talking. That girl just didn't have any boundaries.

"Are…are you daft? Madoka doesn't even look _close _to our age. Sure she's cute in a childish sort of way. I'm not into that stuff personally, but it if appeals to you-"

_Dunk. _A pretty solid plastic bottle hit Kyouko square in the forehead. Her smug smile was gone in a second. This time, it was Homura's turn to laugh.

"Ow, that thing was half-full!" The victim sounded shocked, really.

"It was an accident."

"You know, I liked you better all emotionless and boring." Kyouko's tone became sulky, but her returning trademark grin kinda ruined the overall impression.

"You realize that our…significant others might not love us in the way we love them?" Again, it struck Homura that she was now so lightly discussing the very reason for her existence. And with Kyouko, of all people.

"It has crossed my mind." The redhead admitted, rubbing the sore spot where the bottle had hit. "But I figured, why make things more complicated than they have to be? Besides, it never hurts with a push in the right direction."

"Push?"

"Yeah, you know…" Kyouko jumped up from the couch and went around the table, making big sweeping motions with her feet as to make more room among the paper bags and wrappers. She then put her hands on her hips and shook her head, as if in disappointment.

"No no no. Look, if you want to fight without spending so much energy, you have to get better with that sword." It was a person ingrained with manipulation that could perform such a convincing act. Kyouko sighed in pretend frustration and walked up to an imaginary Sayaka.

Homura could actually picture the indignant look on the proud girl's face when her self-proclaimed teacher criticized her.

"Widen your stance." She could picture Kyouko's hands on Sayaka's hips and legs, relocating a misplaced foot.

"Relaxed shoulders. Your movements always have to be fluid." She could picture Kyouko's hands trailing Sayaka's arms, roughly correcting all errors they found.

"You actually do that?" Homura asked in minor disbelief. The redhead snapped out of character and stopped groping the air.

"From time to time. I'm trying to keep my complaints relatively valid though. She's way too stiff when fighting."

"You can't be serious." Kyouko shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly and looked quite pleased with herself.

"No sexual harassment charges as of yet. You should try it some time." It was certainly not unthinkable. It's not like Madoka was the most independent of girls, and she actually trusted Homura in this timeline. It was tempting. But the repressed personality of a shy girl with glasses came in the way. To her, it seemed like taking advantage of, like using. And to do that to _her _Madoka…

"Yeah right."

"You don't have to do it my way." Kyouko pointed out. She made her way back to the table and sat down on the very edge of it, opposite to her guest. She could tell that Homura wasn't very comfortable with the subject, and that amused her greatly.

"Experiment. Find something that works for you. Madoka is innocent and shy, things like 'accidental' touches will work wonders with her. You just need to loosen up a bit, become a little more…accessible. Like I said earlier, you two don't seem very comfortable around each other. Change that."

Kyouko spoke with great enthusiasm and a mischievous smile. Homura just stared at her, speechless, for a few seconds before bursting out in genuine laughter. It felt relieving.

"You are horrible."

"And you don't have to be so damn serious all the time, Homura. It'll just make you unhappy."

"That's easy for you to say."

"You think?"

The room's color slowly changed from red to blue as dusk became proper night. Homura ran her hand through her long, silky hair and stood up. Something had changed this afternoon. The cold expression she always carried was gone, and the girl felt ten times lighter than usual. Worries, frustration, responsibility, all had been washed away by the rude, carefree redhead.

"I'd better get going."

"Sure, sure." Kyouko yawned with arms raised high. Homura once again made her way to the door of the apartment, with less trouble than the first time. "Remember what I've taught you!"

"Yeah, whatever." Halfway through the doorway, a thought struck the time traveler. She turned to look at Kyouko Sakura, who was still sitting on the table full of snacks, looking out the window at nothing in particular. _"You seem oddly carefree." Well, no wonder. She's in love, and she really believes that Sayaka can love her back. If my conviction was as strong, would I be as cheerful? _

"Kyouko!"

"Mm?"

"Clean this place up. I don't want to have to wade through trash every time I come here."

She got two gleaming fangs for an answer.

"No promises."


	2. Benign Relapse

**Huge thanks to people who reviewed the first chapter! I've never been one to write chapter stories, but your support is all the motivation I need. Yes, that is cheesy. It's also true. I also want to apologize in advance for updates being so infrequent. I'm not the fastest of writers, let's say. **

****I have a bunch of material for this story as of now, covering maybe 2-4 additional chapters (including this one). If there continues to be a general interest for the story, I will most likely continue to update it. For that reason, any and all reviews are greatly appreciated.****

**Also, if you're a die-hard Mami fan (and you ought to be): Don't worry.**

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><p>Madoka knocked on the door. There was no answer. She tried again, with a bit more vigor. Still nothing. Two minutes and an aching hand later, the door opened.<p>

"Morning, Kaname-san." It was a familiar sight by now. Mami's golden locks were frizzy and dull, and her eyes blinked at her guest tiredly. It was laughably obvious that she had just got out of bed, and that she had slept with her regular clothes on. While Mami's smile upon seeing her friend was heartfelt, Madoka was wary thanks to past experiences.

"Good morning, Tomoe-san. How are you?" The blonde gestured for Madoka to step inside, tried to straighten out her skirt, and walked back into the apartment.

"I'm fine, I'm just a little tired." It was still dark outside, an early and dingy Saturday morning.

"How come?" Madoka asked as politely as possible. She'd been able to sneak out of the house, with her parents fast asleep. She wasn't sure if she had been lucky or not, but the pink-haired girl felt a little more comfortable at the moment, as Mami seemed to be in a good mood.

"Would you like some tea?" Timed perfectly with the question came the scent of the lovely beverage, and the guest nodded energetically.

While Mami was away getting said tea, Madoka buried her head in her hands and sighed deeply as the reality of what she was doing hit her. She wondered how she would explain the reason for her early and sudden arrival. The reason that now slept quietly in her pocket, that just hours earlier had been on fire with hate and desperation.

Carelessly kind as she was, Madoka was only worried about Mami's health. And just when it seemed like things were looking up…again.

"Here we go." With only the slightest of clattering, the tray with cups and teapot sailed through the air on the steady hands of Mami Tomoe, and Madoka sat down at the square table where the tray landed.

"Thanks." Mami sat down opposite to her guest with her legs crossed. She looked awfully sleepy, like she could doze off at any second. Madoka felt a little uneasy as she poured herself a cup of the steaming liquid.

"So, what's on your mind, Kaname-san?"

"Oh…I'm sorry for coming unannounced."_ Not to mention so early._

"It's fine, I knew you wouldn't have done so if it wasn't important." Rubbing her hazy eyes, the blonde took a careful sip of the tea. It was strange. Mami looked as friendly and calm as always, but that same look coupled with her wrinkled clothes and tired appearance was a little…unsettling.

"Right. Um…" Nervousness made Madoka's hands tremble, and she was painfully aware that this scenario felt very familiar. "…I want to talk about last night."

"What do you mean?" Many people would've called the reaction of innocent surprise bad acting. But not many people knew Mami.

"Look at yourself…please, Tomoe-san…" More trembling. She put down the cup, didn't want to spill anything. Mami smiled nervously and tried to smooth out some of the crinkles on her sleeve.

"It's…a little embarrassing to be dressed this way, but I…I must've fallen asleep like this and-"

"You can't remember how it happened, can you?" Kindness was partially replaced by bitterness. This wasn't the first time. It wasn't even the second time. Outside, the sun was rising. The only way to tell was that it got brighter, as clouds were still dominating the sky.

"I'm sorry, Kaname-san, I don't understand-"

"You've been drinking again." It was a hasty statement, but every word was perfectly audible.

"I…I haven't." Mami suddenly looked very pitiful, and you could tell that she didn't trust herself at all.

"You don't remember what you did last night, right? Or why you woke up like that?" Shifting between frustration and empathy, Madoka pulled up her cellphone from her pocket and held it out to Mami.

The blonde girl whimpered, as if the piece of plastic was in fact a ticking bomb. Meeting an unusually intense look from her friend, she took the phone.

"Go to voice mail." Madoka instructed her, trying to keep calm. What she really wanted was to yell and to scream until her lungs hurt.

The clicks and beeps of the cellphone were too loud in the large room when no one was speaking. Mami focused all her attention on the small glowing screen, not wanting to face the disappointment in her friend's eyes.

"The three most recent ones are yours. Go on, listen to them." Sure enough, on the screen blinked three small rectangles, all received just three to four hours earlier. With a thumb that was nigh vibrating, Mami chose the first message and raised the phone to her ear. Her free hand nervously tugged on a curly pigtail.

"_K-Kaname-san?"_ It was a frail, quiet voice that poured out of the small device. Mami tensed up and her eyes started to wander to everything but the girl in front of her. _"I have to talk to you…please, I need…I need to hear your voice. If only for a second…talk to me…talk to me, I beg of you…"_

Then silence.

"That was the shortest one." Unable to keep quiet, Madoka's voice made Mami twitch. It was a voice filled with something other than the kind and careful tones it was used to. "The other two are really long, you don't have to listen to the whole thing…"

Mami scrolled her way to the next message without a word.

"_Why…won't you just answer me, Madoka?" _Same voice, only louder and a little more wobbly. Madoka stopped trembling when she heard the distorted sound coming from her phone. Somehow, she'd been afraid that the calls were figments of her imagination, or parts of a bad dream. That Mami was actually doing great and that everything was fine. This obviously wasn't the case, and it was somehow relieving.

"_Is it because of what…what happened last time we met? I promised you…n-n-never again…I don't why I did it, I…you told me it was alright! You…y-you told me you wouldn't fault me for it! You forgave me, Madoka!…you forgave me…_

Mami couldn't sit still anymore. She got up and walked to the end of the room, just to turn around and walk back again. Not once did her eyes even come close to looking at Madoka. The message now played up some sobbing and sniffling, the pink-haired girl recalled.

"_You pro…probably think that I'm worthless…M-Madoka, please…you're the only one…who listens to me anymore…_

"You go quiet there for about two minutes, so if you'd like to move on…" The new tone in Madoka's voice was very bitter, albeit mixed up with considerate stutters.

"I'm so sorry-" Mami tried, but immediately got cut off.

"Last message, Tomoe-san. Please listen to it."

She did so without protest.

"_This is all…your…fault." _Same voice, a hissing tone, clearly drunk. One could easily tell by the unnatural pauses and swaying pitch. Mami wasn't even facing her friend anymore, but was instead looking out the window. It wasn't looking much better out there, honestly.

"_You-u…and that Sa…Sayaka. I dragged you a-around…kept you safe. Wha…what happened then, Madoka? What happened then!'?" _The sudden increase in volume made both girls jump slightly.

"_I almost died! It's…you…you…your fault. Then c-came Kyouko and Ho…'Ho-mu-ra-chan'." _The last name was pronounced with so much hate and disgust that a mere recording couldn't mimic it. The blonde's shoulders shivered, but the phone stayed where it was.

"_Your fault…it's you-ur fault I'm like this…you h-have to help me…why won't you answer!'? I…I…hate you. I hate you. You…and Sayaka and the other girls…you-u can all go to hell…"_

To Madoka's surprise, Mami ended up listening to the entire last message. It was very repetitive, pleas for help wrapped in hateful outbursts.

"Can I have it back now, Tomoe-san?" Madoka drank some tea before holding out her open hand. As expected, there was no answer. The former witch hunter's arms fell to her sides and the plastic device hit the floor with a clatter. No one paid any attention to the sound of something electronically important breaking.

"…so sorry…" Not even a whisper, Mami's voice could still be heard in the spacious room. She hated the itchy clothes she was wearing and what a mess she was, hated that she once again broke down before the only friend she had left. But most of all, she hated how conveniently her mind "forgot" whenever she'd been drinking. It was somewhat of a blessing, but a real curse in the long run.

Madoka made a decision as she crawled up on her hands and knees. The first time, she had cried together with her injured friend and murmured soft promises to her. Things were going to be okay, it was fine, it was just a slip-up.

The second time had been so much worse. It was the first time Madoka had seen anyone drunk, except for her mother. But whereas Junko was just loud and mostly harmless, Mami was not. Madoka had tried to calm her down, with some success, but things had gotten…uncomfortable.

Madoka had to try something new this time. Despite her caring and gentle personality, even she had gotten angry with Mami and her carelessness. So she wouldn't be so forgiving this time.

"Why?" The single word loaded with disappointment echoed in the apartment. Mami, who had completely forgotten that the pink-haired girl was in the room with her, spun around. She looked much like her Soul Gem did nowadays. Broken.

"Why do you do this to yourself!'?" _Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry. _"You were the one who abandoned us, not the other way around! Me and Sayaka-chan always tried to support you after the incident, and you…you didn't care…"

"I cared about you, Madoka!" Mami looked at her contritely, her golden eyes glistening with held-back tears. Some of the clouds cleared, sending a shower of light through the window. The sunlight made Mami's silhouette glow faintly. "And I still do! You are the only one who haven't made the contract, the only one who doesn't look at me like I have some kind of contagious disease. I'm sure Kyouko and Homura are thrilled to have one less Puella Magi in the area…"

"Stop!" Madoka did cry, she couldn't help it. But it was angry, burning tears that rolled down her cheeks. "Stop talking about yourself like that! I looked up to you, even after you stopped hunting. I admired you, until…until…"

"Madoka…"

"…until you started hurting yourself like this…stop it. Stop it right now." The sentence ended in something between a hic and a cough. Madoka felt empty. She had said everything she could possibly say, and she didn't think it would help. Somewhere deep inside, she knew that Mami was a lost cause. Maybe Kyuubei had lied about how serious the damage done to her soul was.

_Ping._

Apparently, the cellphone was still in good health. Mami, who located the sound fairly quickly, picked up the phone and held it out.

"Here."

Wiping away her tears, Madoka walked up and took the device. Upon seeing the message on the screen, she sighed deeply. From frustration, mostly, but from relief as well.

"It's from my parents. Looks like they've noticed that I'm not at home. It was probably Dad, he wakes up pretty early." Her cheeks pink with shame and her voice a bit shaky, Madoka mustered enough willpower to smile resignedly at Mami. "I better get home."

The blonde watched in growing panic as her friend bowed almost unnoticeably. She was going to leave, and Mami couldn't take it. She knew she couldn't trust herself without Madoka around. Even if her injured mind had repressed last night's events, there was no mystery as to why she had called Madoka. She needed the optimistic and caring girl. But there was nothing she could say that would make her friend trust her or stay. Yet she had to try.

Mami staggered forward and wrapped her arms around the neck of Madoka Kaname. She greedily inhaled the wonderful scent of…_something _radiating from the petite body. It fulfilled a strange urge, originating from their very first meeting. The feeling had at first been dismissed as protective instinct, and it was now halfheartedly explained as emotional desperation. In reality it was neither, but the memory acknowledging that had also been deeply buried.

It was a miracle that Mami didn't knock Madoka to the ground, but the two remained standing. Waves upon waves of conflicting emotions crashed against the pink-haired girl in the form of an upperclassman's body. Stiff as a board with initial surprise and embarrassment, only stutters escaped her.

"T-Tomoe-saah!" The name ended in a yelp as Mami buried her face in Madoka's shoulder and sighed.

"Madoka…" She murmured into the soft cloth that smelled faintly of fabric softener. Her breath left spots of heat behind, and Madoka's legs suddenly felt very unreliable. "…you can't leave me, please…you know what happens. I can make all the promises you want, but I won't be able to keep them without you around…you give me strength, Madoka…"

_It's happening again. She did this last time too, just before she-_

_But she's not drunk this time._ _Mami isn't lying or rambling, she's speaking from the bottom of her heart. She needs our help…are we just going to ignore that? _

No, of course they weren't. Not that it mattered what they decided on, since any and all active thoughts in Madoka's head were easily overruled by the heat from Mami's breath and body. Madoka didn't try to break free or resist the blonde's embrace. All she did was whimper slightly as the mumbling voice moved from her shoulder to her neck. The same effects on bare skin was substantially different. The girl felt as if she was going to melt away in the arms of her former idol.

"Ma...Mami-"

_Pi-pip, pi-pip, pi-pip…_

The electronically generated noise was incredibly out of place. It belonged in reality, where things made sense and had rules. Upon hearing the sound, this reality rushed into Madoka. It was the cellphone alarm, set to wake her up this morning. After all, she was supposed to hang out with Homura today. It would've been all four of them, but Kyouko and Sayaka were busy…as always.

All of this came to Madoka in less than a second. She squirmed, trying to get out of the deceitfully comfortable embrace. It was like a bed at dawn; warm, cozy and comforting. Mami let go with similar reluctance, feeling nauseating dread curl up in the pit of her stomach.

"I-I have to go." The beeping of the cellphone stopped abruptly as trembling fingers found the right button. Madoka felt dizzy, and the spacious room suddenly seemed all too small. She hurriedly said her goodbyes, thus ignoring everything Mami had said to her.

"_She is being overdramatic." _was one of the rationalizations.

"_She'll never get better if I'm around holding her hand all the time." _ was another one.

"_I wasn't afraid or uncomfortable. She was so close, so intimate, and I…liked it." _was a completely unrelated, but far more important thought.

Halfway through the room, Madoka stopped. She dug around in her other pocket until her hand found the cold, hard object. Careful not to prick herself with the pointy end of the Grief Seed, she tossed it across the room. The black container hit the floor with a metallic _clink _and spun around a bit, inexplicably leaving it resting on its tip.

"Akemi-san said that your Soul Gem must be looking pretty bad right now." It wasn't a lie. What it implied was. "I almost forgot that I was supposed to give it to you."

"Thanks." One word. Zero meaning.

Madoka left. The door was carefully closed behind her, when it slamming shut would've been more appropriate.

The blonde girl with the wrinkled clothes and the sombre look sighed. The tray was still on the table, with its exquisite cups and pot glimmering neatly. The tea was probably still hot.

Heartache didn't describe Mami's pain very well. It was really more of an stomachache, a tightening knot of anger and self-pity. The absence of Madoka Kaname was physically painful. It tore and scratched at an already damaged soul.

Mami herself witnessed this when she held up the egg-shaped piece of rock and metal that contained her soul, even if she wasn't aware of it. Along the side of the dirty orange gem ran a deep crack, and the metal was bent and charred where it ended. Fine tendrils of darkness swam around inside, and strangely enough, they seemed to stay away from the crack.

Amber eyes scanned the floor for the Grief Seed, and narrowed as soon as they found it. That was _Homura's _contribution, a silent act of ridicule. _Since you obviously can't get your own, Madoka had to beg to give you one of mine. Poor, helpless Mami…_

"Akemi-san, eh?" The blonde picked up Madoka's gift to her, and held it against her Soul Gem. The black tendrils were absorbed, one after another, into the dark confines of the Seed. As Mami's body tingled with the peculiar sensation, she came to a decision.

"Homura Akemi."It was a voice vibrating with purpose that filled the apartment. Instead of emptiness and cumbersome feelings of affection, there was a burning and solid will to blame and to punish. Mami was going to kill Homura. For taunting her. For stealing her territory. For stealing Madoka. Devoid of reason, the idea grew into a reality.

The Grief Seed reached its cleansing limit, but the quantity of darkness left in the Soul Gem was still significant. The clouds outside finally cleared completely. The curtain of gray fully parted to reveal the beaming sun. It shone with full effect over the city of Mitakihara and promised its citizens a bright and pleasant day.

Mami Tomoe went to take a drink.


	3. The Teaching of Bad Habits

**AN: So...Easter and all the non-school days that comes with it is over. I will try my best not to slack off on the fanfiction front, but we all know that school can take up a big portion of time. Pessimistic assumptions aside, enjoy the chapter where I am horrendously mean to my favorite character.**

**Mami fans still shouldn't worry. You guys so aren't listening. **

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><p>The world was filled with light. Rays of red, purple and yellow flickered madly as the razor-sharp sword cut into the deformed body of the witch. The horrid creature burst into a stroboscope of color and its dying cry cut into the ears of the young Puella Magi.<p>

A shimmer went through the air as the witch's barrier dissolved, giving up its exotic oddities to cold reality. Sayaka Miki landed on the ground, panting loudly. She winced as a few broken ribs magically repaired themselves, along with a few of her cuts and bruises. A blue glow soon enveloped her and turned her back into an ordinary school girl, albeit a very exhausted one.

The victorious girl kneeled down on the soft grass of the field. She was in the middle of a stadium, a grand and impressive piece of construction, sadly enough dedicated to something as trivial as sports. A few feet behind her stood Kyouko, dressed as sloppily as always. The gray hoodie she wore on account of the cold night made her look very thug-like. The shiny red apple in her mouth completely negated this impression.

The redhead leisurely leaned against nothing and looked upon the tired girl with a multitude of feelings. There was protective anger, the always present red-hot emotion that Kyouko was getting more and more annoyed with. There was some pride, as Sayaka had just taken down a witch of significant strength without her help. There was also something that could best be described as lust. It wasn't that strange, just a logical follow-up to love. If anything, it was only confirmation that Kyouko did have feelings for the heroic blunette. Despite this fact and many-a inappropriate joke, the sight of the protegée's sweaty figure and cocky demeanor made her frustratingly irresolute.

Luckily, the redhead had something to focus on: A complaint.

"How was that? Pretty good, huh?" Still breathless, Sayaka smiled widely.

"Idiot." Kyouko took her apple in one hand and smacked Sayaka over the head with the other, purposely choosing the hand which bore her Soul Gem's ring for added damage.

"Ow! What the hell did you do that for!'?"

"I thought you wanted to improve your battle skills."

"I do, but-"

"Then riddle me this, dear student: When is it a good idea to run head first into your opponent's attacks?"

"Kyouko-"

"No, I'm tired of this invincibility bullshit! You're not immortal! Either you learn how to dodge, or you'll end up dead. That's that." _Easy, Kyouko. Give the girl a break for once, even you would've had trouble with that thing. Breathe, girl, breathe._

"Well soh-rry." Sayaka's proud tone was tainted by remorse, and she kicked the ground angrily. "I've just been doing it unconsciously ever since Kyuubei told me how, I don't know why. Maybe I'm scared of feeling pain, so sue me..." Her voice trailing off, Sayaka wiped beads of sweat from her forehead and turned to one of the many exits of the stadium.

Kyouko watched her walk away, obviously somewhat downtrodden. The emotionally conflicted girl wanted to mentally strangle herself. _Great encouragement, Kyouko. Thank the Lord that you're in love with the most thick-headed girl on the planet, she's probably the only person able to stand your "love". _

"Ey, Sayaka!" The sharp voice echoed slightly between the concrete walls in the vast arena. "What did you do with the Grief Seed?"

"It's right here." Kyouko had to take her word for it, since the darkness made it hard to make out the black object. "Don't worry, I wasn't planning on stealing it or anything."

"Like you could." Kyouko chuckled and took the final bite out of her apple before throwing the core on the ground and running up to Sayaka, putting an arm around her student's shoulders. Being used to these sort of random signs of what the girl assumed to be affection, Sayaka didn't mind.

"C'mon, cheer up. I'm proud of ya, you didn't get your ass kicked that bad this time. A few years under my tutelage, and you might turn out half as awesome as I am!" Not hiding it very well, Kyouko could spot a smile creeping up on Sayaka's lips. _Acting all sour and pouty, are we?_

"Hell, it might just be the fact that it's 4 AM and I haven't slept in god-knows-how-long, but keep the Seed."

"You sure?" That was the deal: Kyouko tutors Sayaka, Kyouko gets Seed. Unless Sayaka really needs it, Kyouko _always_ gets Seed. Love or no, the wolf-like girl hadn't overcome her lust for power. But one had to prioritize.

"You've earned it. Just promise me to quit running into giant...on second thought, just stop running into things in general. Okay?"

"Sounds fair enough." Her spirit reignited, Sayaka grinned and let her reward slip into her pocket. The two walked out of the stadium and were greeted by the harsh wind that tore through the streets. Kyouko involuntarily shivered, a reaction that didn't go by unnoticed.

"Cold night, eh? You should've dressed accordingly, _Sakura-sensei._" The blunette snickered and patted her cozy, light-blue jacket for emphasis. Encouraged by the friendly atmosphere, Kyouko decided to have her fun.

"I've got my source of heat right here. It just sucks that it reeks of sweat." The street lights fell on the couple as the one with long hair tied up in a ponytail squeezed the other girl tighter, who responded by pushing the long-haired girl away in a playful manner.

"Hey, I took care of that witch all by myself!"

"I can tell. You didn't think to bring deodorant or somethin'?"

"Because you obviously smell like a bunch of roses after a fight, Kyouko."

"Aw, what happened to the 'sensei' part? I could've gotten used to that." Having been excluded from the warmth of Sayaka and her fancy clothing, Kyouko jogged on the spot to stay warm. For being a person who didn't like to dwell on what she did and didn't have, she still would've loved to have something thicker than a hoodie and pants that went past her knees.

Sayaka opened her mouth to answer, but ended up yawning instead.

"Today's a Monday." Crimson eyes scanned the sky idly, counting four or five lonely stars in the infinitely black.

"...so?"

"You should go home, get some sleep. Wouldn't want to be late for school."

"Kyouko...we've talked about this."

"I know. The talk ended with you going." Sayaka stopped walking, arms crossed and radiating stubbornness. Kyouko wondered why she even bothered.

"I can't juggle both school work and the Puella Magi business. Not when I'm out training with you."

"Seriously!'? No one has forced you to-"

"I know...I know, okay? I just...don't care anymore. How can I focus on studying when there are people dying every day? People that I can help!"

_Christ, again with the hero agenda._

"Do you know how many Puella Magi there are in this area now? Four! Freakin' four, Sayaka! There is plenty of help to go around!"

"Last time I checked, you and Homura didn't exactly care about saving anyone. You don't even deserve to be Puella Magi!" Because Sayaka pretty much compared all magical girls to Mami, this comment was understandable. To Kyouko, it was laughable.

"Don't kid yourself. Out of all of us, you're probably the person least suited to fight witches. That's including Mami, and she's practically braindead-"

"Shut up! You have no right to talk that way about Tomoe-san! She actually wanted to help people, unlike you!" There was an impressive amount of disgust in Sayaka's voice, and it was hard to think that two had been acting like best friends just a minute earlier. "You only think about what's best for yourself...you're a horrible person."

Kyouko shrugged.

"True enough." In a few quick steps, the redhead grabbed Sayaka by the collar of her jacket and pushed her up against nearest wall. Despite wholehearted struggling, Sayaka was no match for Kyouko's brute strength.

"Go to school Sayaka, unless you want me to show you just how horrible I am. You understand?"

"Screw you." As expected, the blunette wasn't going to go down that easily. Her foot swung out in search for Kyouko's shin, but the redhead simply sidestepped the kick. She smiled a toothy smile and pulled her other arm back, fist ready. Intensely blue eyes stared at her, full of fear and defiance. Even when clearly beaten, Sayaka wasn't going to give up.

_I only want to protect you, Sayaka. You've already thrown your wish away on a guy you don't even talk to anymore. I won't let you throw away your life too. And you have the gall to say that I only care about myself. God dammit, Sayaka...I love you so much._

Then Kyouko punched her.

**-I-**

"Psst...Sa...up." The melodic voice stirred up the fluffy thoughts of the sleeping girl. She didn't mind the voice, but the awfully rude shaking wasn't as easy to ignore. When trying to grumble menacingly, a hand was put over her mouth. Fed up with the distractions, her mind officially switched into "awake mode".

"Come on, Sayaka. We have to go." Hitomi Shizuki, good friend of Madoka and Sayaka yet completely unknowing of the Puella Magi/witch hunting debacle, took a forceful hold of her friend's arm and practically dragged her out of the empty classroom. A small crowd had gathered just outside, greatly enjoying Hitomi's efforts and Sayaka's confused state, but they quickly dispersed when the two came their way.

Hitomi guided a half-asleep Sayaka outside, into the blinding spring sun. It had the desired effect. Like an unearthly creature whose greatest enemy is daylight, the blunette groaned in pain and raised her arm to shield herself from the harmful rays. Emerald eyes watched her with compassion and subtle amusement.

"Wha...what was that about?"

"You're supposed to snooze during lessons, Sayaka. Not after them." Hitomi had not given up on trying to find out what was wrong with her friend. _Something _was obviously amiss, evidenced by the constant napping, the secrecy and evasiveness of both her and Madoka, and Sayaka's most recent facial feature. Hitomi once again felt very excluded from their friendship, an unfortunately common feeling. However, the girl's mind was plagued by more pressing matters.

"Sorry, I'm just..." There was an awkward pause as Sayaka realized that she couldn't explaining anything. "...er, things are a little difficult right now."

"I assume the age-old trick of confiding in a friend isn't your thing?"

"Hitomi-"

"Sayaka, it's fine. You have secrets, and I respect that. I'm just worried about you, okay? Speaking of which, how's your eye?" The kind comment was rewarded with a laugh and the warmest smile one can imagine from a person with a black eye.

"Better, thanks."

"You really ought to put some ice on it."

"I think it's a little late for that." Kyouko had unknowingly caused a lot of emotional reactions through her fairly simple action. Naturally, Sayaka had gone mad_._ She probably didn't expect her tutor to actually punch her square in the face. The redhead had calmly walked away with the lone comment of _"Get some damn sleep, you idiot."_

Being blessed with survival instinct, the wounded hero had managed to get a few hours of sleep at home. Sneaking in and out of the house had become second nature to her, and this Monday was no different.

Things hadn't become better at school_. _A literal squad of nosy middle schoolers had more or less made Sayaka their center of gravity for a few hours. She had vaguely attributed the blemish to clumsiness at the wrong place at the wrong time. The leeches reluctantly settled for this after an unusually aimed outburst from Kazuko, who seemed to sympathize with Sayaka for some reason. (_"Believe me, I know what it's like when no one respects your privacy."_) Another teacher might've been concerned as to why one of her students had a black eye and a terrible excuse for it, but fortunately not Kazuko Saotome.

Furthermore, Hitomi had reacted unexpectedly strongly as well_. _Feeling bad about lying to her compassionate friend, Sayaka went the way of half a lie and told the green-haired girl about a run-in with a shady character at late hours. It made sense that she'd want to keep such a thing a secret as well. She was rewarded with a proper scolding and some repairing trust.

There was also the matter of Sayaka's parents, who were expected to parentally freak out_. _A more waterproof explanation had been devised for this situation, consisting of P.E. and a stray ball to the face. Hitomi had promised to act witness if necessary.

"Thanks for, you know...waking me up." The two girls began their trek towards home in a slow pace, on account of the heat. Laughter and cheerful voices were all around them, all smitten by spring euphoria.

"No problem. Where is Madoka?"

"Didn't you catch her on her way out? She said she had to get home as soon as school ended."

"I didn't see her. Why the rush?" It was a known fact the three were drifting apart, albeit slowly. This was the most apparent with Hitomi, but the girl accepted this as a fact of life and thoroughly enjoyed spending time with with other female friends. That's not to say that the three never spoke or hung out together, as wasn't the case at all. It just seemed to happen more rarely nowadays.

"She's been up to some kind of mischief, and her parents aren't very happy with her." Sayaka knew exactly what kind of mischief she was talking about, but she couldn't tell Hitomi that, because then she would have to tell her about Mami as well.

"That doesn't sound like Madoka." Hitomi frowned, and still managed to look serene somehow. "Are you sure she's alright?"

"We're her friends, not her caretakers. She's entitled to a life of her own. If you're so worried about her, why not just call her or something?" It was a neutral question, asked in a neutral manner, but it echoed accusingly inside Hitomi's head. She bit her lip nervously and wondered if this really was good idea, if she really would manage to tell Sayaka about her situation.

"I've been busy."

"My excuse is more profound." Sayaka chuckled and ruffled her own teal-colored hair awkwardly. It was a meant as a joke, but Hitomi looked as if she'd been told that she was a bad friend. Ashamed and eager to cheer her up, the blunette quickly scoured her head for a possible topic. The one that would probably be the most effective was also the least desirable.

"So...how are things going with Kamijou-kun?" It was the perfect question, in theory. It said that Sayaka was fine with their relationship (a complete and utter lie, Kyousuke was one of the reasons that she drowned herself in her "work") and it referred to something Hitomi surely would like to discuss.

That was in theory. In reality, it was a nightmarish question. The troubled girl froze mid-step, and almost got rear-ended by a romantic couple on their blind stroll through the park. Hitomi recovered in an instant and looked at Sayaka with an uninterpretable expression. She sighed deeply.

"Sayaka...come on." Now without much of choice, the green-haired girl guided a confounded Sayaka to a small wooden bench, the kind you see littered everywhere in any respectable park. In just a few more minutes of walking, the two would've gotten to the point where they would've had to go separate ways. They sat down.

"What's wrong, Hitomi?"

"I..." She started to fiddle with her long hair, twirling it around her fingers. Her green eyes were everywhere, taking in the swaying trees and the sunlit ground and widening in awe over how beautiful everything was. Hitomi was once again with filled the feeling of exclusion, that she didn't deserve nor was supposed to be here.

"Is it about Kamijou-kun?" Sayaka tried to get her friend on the right track.

"Y-yes. As I'm sure you know, he and I have been dating for a few weeks now."

"I'm aware." The slight stab of jealousy was ignored to damnation.

"Well...I've realized something. And it's only fair I told you about it, Sayaka." The blue-haired girl breathed a deep mental breath and threw every feeling that even resembled love out the window.

"Hitomi, listen to me. When you first told me that you too were interested in Kamijou-kun, you were so cool about it. Almost cold. You told me what was going on, and you let me make a decision. The way you're acting now...it's freaking me out. Just...tell me what's wrong. Calmly."

"Okay...okay..." But Hitomi wasn't calm. She was fighting a war with herself, selfishness battled compassion, and worry and fear was teaming up against reason.

Rough winds suddenly tore through the trees, reminding everyone that winter wasn't over quite yet, despite the warmth. The two sitting girls shivered at the chilly touch, as the grass swayed seductively in unison with the rustling crowns.

"I like him...as a friend."

There was silence, unless you count the shouting of three teenagers flying by on bicycles.

"What?" Sayaka blinked stupidly, and couldn't for the life of her figure out what Hitomi was trying to tell her. The very act of getting the first word/sentence out sparked something inside Hitomi, and gears of thought started spinning rapidly.

"How long have you had feelings for Kamijou-kun?"

"Wha...I...I can't remember that, probably since I first met him. But Hitomi-"

"And you met him before I did, right?" Selfishness won. Puzzle pieces fell into place and restored peace and order in the world.

"Yes...I can't even recall you two together, honestly."

"Then...then I was right."

"You aren't...in love with him?" Sayaka spoke slowly. She wasn't up for this sudden turn of events, and she could feel a gratuitous headache creep up her spine.

"Well...no." Hitomi's expression softened and she took Sayaka hands in her own. She trembled slightly, but was soothed by knowledge that even if her friend would end up hating her, her own emotions were straightened out. It was a selfish consolation, but it made her feel that much better. "As things look now, Kamijou-kun is nice to me and I think he likes me. I can see myself falling in love with him, if I have to."

"I don't understand..."

"You know how when you like someone who doesn't like you back, you try to make that person jealous? Even if you're painfully aware that that person has no interest in you?" At peace with herself, Hitomi tilted her head to the side and smiled apologetically. "I think I might've done that by accident."

"But...who were you trying to make..." The blunette came to an impossible, unlikely and completely correct conclusion. Hitomi smiled even wider and squeezed Sayaka's hands. She was shaking for real now, something only noticeable through touch. "...jealous?"

On park bench in early spring, under a blue sky framed with leaves, Hitomi Shizuki leaned forward and kissed Sayaka Miki on the cheek. It was a quick peck, as graceful and light as its giver. The relieving feeling of letting go of a secret embraced the green-haired girl, and she carefully let go of her friend's hands and stood up. Sayaka was in some sort of chock, and hesitantly brought her hands to the spot where Hitomi's lips had brushed against her skin.

"I will stay with Kyousuke because I don't want to hurt him, especially since I was the one who confessed to him. Like I said, I can surely love him if I try. But...yeah. I won't blame you if you hate me for doing this to you, Sayaka. I mean, I hate me. I wish I had known sooner, I really do."

"Hitomi..." Emotions churned in Sayaka's stomach, and that headache was making itself known. Did she feel anger or hate? Frustration? Anything apart from surprise and chock? Poor girl didn't know what was up and what was down.

"I have to go. Just...think about what I've said, and believe me when I say how sorry I am. I've been a horrible friend." Hitomi grabbed her school bag off the bench and then-

**-I-**

In the peculiar and decidedly eccentric apartment that belonged to Homura Akemi sat two girls. Some kind of witchcraft, if you pardon the pun, had most likely been used during decorating. The "room" didn't actually have walls, but instead stretched out into white infinity. The center of the "room" had spongy and colorful pads as its only furniture, being placed in a way that made them resemble a clock from a bird's eye perspective. A gritty-looking pendulum swung back and forth above the center of the clock, creating loud and insistent ticks.

Pictures, or paintings, or plates of metal floated about in the space. They changed content frequently, accordingly to their master's thoughts. Homura herself sat on a green-blue pad and heard her friend rant. Even if it didn't look like it, she was listening intensely, but perhaps for all the wrong reasons.

"-then she just up and leaves!" Kyouko finished, chewing angrily on what used to be a double vanilla cracker.

"So you actually followed her?" Homura's tone was amused, but also condescending, of all things. The redhead took a break from her overwhelming anger to be generally annoying.

"Just a page outta your book, Hom." The raven-haired girl cringed.

"I told you to stop calling me that."

"And I told to you to make a move with Madoka. We seem to have some communication issues here."

"We were supposed to meet up Saturday, but she never showed. Not as much as a text. I wanted to ask about it today at school, but she was way to stressed out about something to even talk to."

"Poor you." Kyouko jumped up and started pacing back and forth, baring sharp canines. Homura wasn't used to seeing her fellow Puella Magi so unstable, and an small amount of worry poked her in the gut. The immediate displacement activity was inappropriate humor.

"Well, with two people trying to win her over, Sayaka has to cross the line sooner or later."

"This isn't about her being gay! God dammit, Homura! This is about little Goody Two-Shoes, and what she did to Sayaka."

"Give me a break. You're the last one to act righteous and protective in this situation. You're telling me that on the day when you give Sayaka a black eye and send her to school, where one of her best friends confess to her...you're not in the least bit worried that she might fall in love with miss Two-Shoes?"

Crimson eyes blinked at Homura slowly, shifting between outright rage and resignation. Finally, Kyouko slumped down on a lemon-yellow pad and threw her arms up in frustration.

"Fuck...of course I am. Of course I am. Hitomi is now to me what Mami is to you. A hindrance. Just with that lil' difference that my hindrance is a manipulative little whore."

"Easy on the language, _Kyou._" Homura performed her characteristic hair flick and shook off the Mami comment. "For all you know, this might be a good thing."

"Good?"

"Well, you hate Hitomi for...'manipulating' Sayaka, yeah? Then what is to say that the victim of this manipulation doesn't feel the same way?"

"Oh, Sayaka won't hate her."

"How can you be so sure of that?"

"Because she's Sayaka! A regular saint, forgiving and kind-spirited! Hell, I bet she's already forgiven me for the punch. Which by the way she totally had coming."

"I believe you're thinking of Madoka..." Homura stated unhelpfully.

This pointless bickering, with an unusual amount of consideration on the time traveler's side, would've been continued for some time, had not something interrupted it. This 'something' was a knock on the door, the one fixed point in the dimensional abomination that was Homura's apartment. Both of the girls' heads immediately turned to the source of the sound.

They weren't expecting anyone.


	4. One Minute War

**AN: Writing fight scenes involving people who can control time is a little like today's motion gaming. It's kinda**** nifty, but tiresome and ultimately not very fun. As they say: "The simplest solution to a problem is often the best solution." Look forward to that.**

**Mami fans still still shouldn't worr...you know what, I realized that it'll take a while until I can actually justify that statement, so...go ahead and worry. Here, I'll even help you. Spoiler: Mami dies. That better? Ah, she doesn't actually die though. Or does she? Okay, _now_ I'm trolling.**

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><p>"<em>Mami, are you sure about this?" <em>The white creature wagged its tail thoughtfully and watched as Mami Tomoe transformed into her Puella Magi self. His intense red stare met her golden glance, and he could plainly see the will and determination behind it. But he also knew that Mami wasn't herself. The damage gone to her Soul Gem (illustrated by a missing piece in the amber gem attached to her flower-shaped hair ornament) combined with the toxins that worsened her judgment made her unpredictable.

"_I'm sure, Kyuubei. I have to do this." _Mami felt confident. She wasn't the weeping heap she was reduced to when around Madoka, but a warrior. A fighter. A Puella Magi. A few blocks away from Homura's apartment, Kyuubei had appeared in front of her. The blonde liked the cute little alien, even if he was a little haughty. She far from trusted him completely, but he was a good ally to have. Furthermore, Homura seemed to hate Kyuubei, which made Mami like him just a bit more.

"_I understand." _He didn't. The furry creature couldn't imagine what good killing Homura would do. It was so incredibly irrational and based on raw emotion, that contemplating it just served to confuse him. But he decided to help Mami, simply because she was the human he had the best relations with. Also, Homura was an anomaly. Nothing bad could come of her death._"Then, let me explain a few things to you. Homura Akemi uses some kind of ability that slows down time or just stops it completely, using that shield of hers. Barging in will get you annihilated in less than seconds."_

Mami Tomoe was in her Puella Magi attire; black hat, corset and all. The cream-colored tuft atop her head blew back and forth in the wind that rushed along the street, and she noted that although several people passed her, no one payed her any attention. It seemed that people that weren't potentials or magical girls had trouble perceiving the witch hunters, just like they were unable to see Kyuubei. This phenomenon was most likely negated inside a witch's barrier, but that wasn't really a problem.

"_Sounds unfair...not to mention impossible." _A shining flintlock rifle sprung to life in Mami's hands, and she impatiently tapped its barrel against the ground. _"Any suggestions?"_

"_If she is in physical contact with something or someone, that object will remain unaffected by her powers. Also, the amount of time she can control is limited." _The creature's round-about and extensive way of expressing himself made the blonde's head hurt. Even if Mami wasn't even close to the definition of drunk, she was certainly inebriated. This made it a little difficult for her to think clearly, but her reactions felt precise and definitive.

"_She can only stop time for a limited amount of...time? Is that what you're saying?"_

"_Yes."_

"_How does that even work?"_

"_I could explain it to you, if you were a little more versed in what you humans call metaphysics. Of course, the mechanics behind time manipulation is far too complex for-"_

"_Kyuubei?"_

"_Yes?"_

"_Skip it." _Mami's was itching to do something. Anything. Killing Homura had seemed like a good idea at the time, and it still did. It would solve a lot of problems, not to mention shut that emotionless know-it-all up. Well...one of them.

"_Very well. Her shield also carries a dimension of seemingly infinite size. Basically, she can store anything with her without it taking up space or weighing her down. Let me just say, this seems like a very bad idea. Homura is stronger then you in every single way. The odds aren't exactly in your favor."_

"_I have the element of surprise, remember?"_

"_Ah, yes. The tactical advantage that you humans rely far too much on. And one that you surely won't be able to use properly in your...intoxicated state." _The fluffy alien perched on top the concrete wall looked down on the high schooler with his light red eyes. Devoid of emotion as they were, Mami felt extremely belittled. She flashed a calm and confident smile and threw the rifle over her shoulder, before heading off towards her goal.

"_I'm just tipsy." _Even that was an exaggeration.

**-I-**

About thirty minutes later, Mami knocked on the door to Homura's apartment. Of course, she didn't know that her enemy had a guest. Conversely, Kyouko and Homura had no idea that the person outside was intent on killing them. Naturally, the raven-haired girl became suspicious, as she knew that no one except Kyouko and Madoka knew where she lived. Homura had met up with her love interest just outside the building once. That was the time when the four girls, Kyouko and Sayaka, Madoka and Homura, had gone out to a restaurant as a fun thing. The redhead was just then getting to know the group, and the time traveler had been effectively ignored the entire evening.

At any rate, since Kyouko was conveniently standing, she was ordered to open the door. As the upset girl made her way across the white nothingness (the floor took some getting used to), she felt something strange. The soles of her feet stuck half a second longer to the ground, as if she'd stepped in something sticky. Deciding to take care of the matter after she had let the visitor in, Kyouko reached for the door handle.

At the same time, Homura noticed her friend's discomfort. As the redhead walked across the room, something caught her eye. Several gold-shimmering strings, almost invisibly thin, were stuck under Kyouko's heel. The door swung open.

"Kyouko, don't!" But it was, as it often is in these situations, too late.

Because of Mami's delayed reaction time, she had told herself to fire the second the door started opening. That way, Homura had less of a chance of being able to stop time before getting blasted. Even if that didn't work, the yellow ribbon wrapped around her wrist would give the advantage she needed.

When Kyouko opened the door, she found herself staring into the intensely amber eyes of that Puella Magi that had been hospitalized. Kyouko knew that she had been a great hunter in her golden days, stocking up on Grief Seeds in Mitakihara like they were going out of style. Now, she was weak. A has-been. Crimson eyes critically inspected her uniform, her appearance and her stance. Then Kyouko noticed the silver rifle aimed directly at her heart.

Homura was up before her warning had left her lips. Her Soul Gem was already in her hand, ready to unleash its power. But as her skin caught on a pleasant burning sensation and a different set of clothes materialized on her body, she saw Kyouko as if in slow-motion. She heard the bang, the deafening crack as Mami fired her flintlock rifle. The bullet, searing hot and with deadly speed, made its way towards Kyouko's chest. However, the girl had the feline reflexes and a lot of instinct. Fast as lightning, she sidestepped. The bullet hit her left shoulder, right below the collarbone.

Homura's shield, the intricate piece of metaphysical sorcery, materialized on her arm. The raven-haired girl felt, actually _felt _the brass gears click into place, whirring satisfactory as they slowed the very essence of time to a halt. It was a strange sensation, familiar to Homura. It was an empowering feeling, but it was also pressing, in the same way that you feel the need for air when you hold your breath.

The bullet went right through soft flesh and muscle tissue, leaving behind a spray of dark red liquid. The sheer force of the impact made Kyouko spin counter-clockwise through the air as graciously as a ragdoll.

_I have one minute._

Everything stopped. Kyouko's body froze mid-rotation, trails of blood extending from the wound. Her face was a mask of surprise and pain, and her crimson eyes were wide open. Homura looked at the still body, and almost smiled. It looked comical, like a random freeze-frame in an action movie.

Mami looked as calm as always, and had clearly not begun to react to the fact that she'd shot the wrong person. Swirls of smoke were frozen above the rifle's muzzle, her arm a little retracted because of the recoil.

_Fifty-seven seconds. She tried to kill Kyouko. No...me. She tried to kill me. Huh...how convenient. _It was. Homura now had an excuse for getting rid of one Puella Magi, and one that was such a obstacle in her quest for Madoka as well. Excited at the mere thought, Homura hurriedly stepped forward in order to apply some blunt force trauma to her opponent's skull. She had in her haste completely forgotten about the golden strings, that were actually threads. The ribbon around Mami's wrist split into a million thin threads that ran in a web pattern along the apartment, set there long before Mami even entered the room. They were practically impossible to see against the white floor.

Sure enough, with the trap triggered, the sticky weave tangled around Homura's ankles and she tripped. Like any other person, she put her hands out to break the fall. Upon impact with the floor, her hands came in contact with the multitude of threads, and Mami suddenly got to see what her rifle had accomplished.

"Having trouble, Akemi-san?" Ignoring the frozen body in front of her, the blonde sneered at her enemy. In reality, she was quite surprised that she had shot Kyouko. Then again, it was the most likely person to be in Homura's home. They were very similar, the two.

_How the hell did she know...? _Homura silently cursed her carelessness. Stumbling to her feet, she tried to get the ribbon pieces off her hands. But of course, it wasn't that easy. They were difficult to see and as sticky as flypaper. And there were so many of them.

"I wouldn't bother with that. Even if you manage to get them off your hands, you won't be able to move without falling." As previously stated, Mami wasn't drunk. She was just under the influence enough to have gotten the quite genius idea to simply end the battle before it began. Actually planning out the idea had however taken much longer than it normally would have. Twenty minutes or so.

_Forty-five seconds. Kyuubei must've told her. He's the only one who knows that much about my powers, excluding Kyouko. _

"Fool." Homura mumbled, tearing and swiping at golden shimmers in the air with great annoyance. The weak threads easily snapped, but every time she broke five, there were ten more to take their place. The soles of her feet looked gold-plated at this point. Mami leisurely threw away the single-shot rifle and pulled out another shining piece of metal from behind her back. Her eyes shone with confidence and gloat.

"This fool has guns, Akemi-san." Mami felt somewhat proud at how she still spoke to Homura in a polite way. She loved being in control again.

"You actually think you can shoot me?" The violet eyes gleamed with hatred, but Homura's voice and manners were kept uninterested and emotionless. She wouldn't let the blonde get as much as a glimpse of her fear.

"No." The rifle cracked happily, sending the red-hot metal ball at the entangled Puella Magi. Of course, as soon as the bullet left the barrel, it froze in mid-air. Mami smiled and summoned yet another rifle...and another one...and another one. Homura watched in concealed horror as the air between her and Mami filled with pellets.

_Thirty-six seconds. I can barely move properly, and the second I lose hold of time, I will be torn to shreds. I have to knock her out, then. But how?_

_A grenade? Tch. That wouldn't just kill Mami, but blow out half the building and Kyouko as well. I know I shouldn't care about anyone but myself and Madoka, but...things have changed. For that matter, Madoka won't trust me for a second if I end up responsible for both Kyouko and Mami's death. There has to be a better way._

_My own guns? They could take down Mami easy, and I could simply block her bullets with my shield. But it'll be ridiculously hard to aim with these damn strings...I could hit Kyouko. Damn it, why does she have to be involved in this!'? I knew I shouldn't have befriended her, but I'm too fucking thick to listen to-_

_-wait, my shield!_

"There." The last rifle hit the floor with loud clatter. Mami glanced at the intriguing statue that was Kyouko. She felt a little bad, the redhead hadn't really done anything to her. Well, now that she thought about it, wasn't Kyouko the girl that had taken over her territory? Why had she blamed Homura for that? It didn't matter. She probably would've had to kill the red Puella Magi at some point anyways. This realization saddened Mami.

_Twenty-eight seconds._

Struggling frantically and trying to hide this, Homura managed to free her right hand. It reached into the infinite space of her time manipulating shield, past medical equipment and syringes, past machine guns and fragmentation grenades, until it found one of her home-made concoctions. It was her own personal witch finisher, since a lot of the twisted beings seemed to dislike fire.

"Not sure what you're trying to do, Akemi-san, but I would advise against it. You've been known to use firearms and explosives a lot, none of which seem like a very good idea right now." Mami knew that time would speed up again soon. She could feel it in the air. Homura couldn't do anything against her, not as long as they were in contact with each other by means of her ribbon. Not mention that the time traveler could barely move.

_Twenty seconds. This is going to hurt._

"You're such a sore loser, Mami. You think killing me will do you any good?" Homura placed the cylinder on the ground in front of her. It immediately attracted a few golden strings, which was just what she wanted to see. With a twist of the top part, she armed the incendiary. However, her hand remained on it, and the timer started ticking down. "You are so pathetic, it's sad. Even a simple familiar could kill you."

_Fifteen seconds. _

Homura took her hand off the plastic cylinder. The ticking stopped. Bracing herself for plenty of pain, she smiled at the Mami Tomoe. A mock friendly smile, one that was the last thing Mami saw before passing out. The raven-haired girl decided to give the blonde one last kick.

"Even Madoka has grown tired of you."

_Ten seconds. _

Time resumed. The cylinder exploded in a ball of bright orange flames. The wall of bullets suddenly shot forward. The fire consumed Homura, reaching and yearning for something to burn and destroy. But they couldn't quite get to the flammable human. There was something holding them back, some sort of barrier. However, the glistening threads around her were a much easier target, and the heat instantly incinerated the thin weave. It all happened in a fraction of a second.

Once more, time halted. The bullets froze inches from the red-orange fire plume. Then, Homura stepped out of the flames, coughing violently and with her outfit burnt and smoking. Ignoring the itching pain in her right hand, she looked over at Mami. The blonde was as still as a statue.

_Four seconds. I can't hold on anymore. _

Fumbling with the clasps of the shield, Homura took it off her arm. Not even taking time to aim, she flung the metal disk through the air. As soon as the shield lost contact with its owner's arm, she too froze in a throwing stance. The discus-like object soared in a graceful arc across the room and straight into Mami's head. It impacted with a frightening _thunk _and fell to the floor. Its gears clicked and whirred into motion.

_Zero._

Manipulating time is not the most relaxing of occupations. Nor is trying to work out the physics behind it. Homura can freeze her surroundings for a certain amount of time, but if she uses the ability twice in quick succession, the mechanism inside her shield doesn't have time to "recharge". It has something to do with archaic mechanical tension and it's all way too complicated to really care about. Point being, Homura can't just perpetually stop time.

A second quirk is the way things like fire work in a frozen environment. Bullets, for example, lose their kinetic energy when stopped. Comparatively, fire loses its thermal energy. This loss does not apply to all types of energy, as light is still perceived normally. As one might understand, the science behind time manipulation is not science at all. Therefore, any objections or arguments for or against the above constructions are rather invalid.

The following three things happened simultaneously:

Ten or more metal pellets charged forward through a flame plume and turned a blue pad behind it into shredded fabric and white stuffing. Said flame plume roared as it burnt out into a big cloud of black smoke that started rising towards the ceiling.

Mami felt a wave of pain surge through her head. Everything turned black in an instant, and there was no time for any quick thoughts or recollections. In an eruption of golden sparks, the girl in the school uniform fell unconscious to the floor.

Kyouko screamed out in pain as her body landed heavily, the impact knocking the wind out of her. Blood splashed out across the white floor, creating beautiful patterns of modern art. Without realizing that an entire battle had played out in her absence, the redhead hissed and cursed Mami's name as loud as she could. Homura would've laughed, but she was too busy trying to take deep breaths and swear at the same time.

"She shot me! I can't believe that bitch shot me!" As always when Kyouko had been hurt, disbelief dominated her voice.

"Pipe down, will you?" Homura walked over to her injured friend, clearly hurting, and picked up her shield. She hated taking it off, as she felt naked without powers and protection. After the device had been reunited with its owner, it dematerialized together with the blackened outfit.

"I. Was. Shot. I will definitely not pi-ah! Son of a..." Groaning with pain, Kyouko raised herself on her elbows. Upon looking over and spotting Mami's lifeless body, she grinned. "She dead?"

"Unconscious. Don't move, and it won't hurt as much. It's not rocket science."

"How considerate." Kyouko huffed, but didn't make any further attempts to get up. She probably realized that Homura didn't have any comfy furniture which she could bleed all over. Though thanks to her passive Puella Magi anatomy, the bleeding had all but stopped. "This'll take days to heal!"

"Just be glad you're not a normal human, then it would take months. The little things, Kyouko, the little things." The time traveler lightly kicked Mami in the side to ensure that she was in fact knocked out. It was also quite satisfying.

"Optimism doesn't suit you, Homura. Help me up, will ya?"

"What did I just say?"

"Look, as comfortable as your floor is, my hair is not fond of the idea of being brushed free of dried blood." Said hair fanned out on the floor irregularly, a vivid amaranth color against the white background. Her daily nutrition intake kept her locks nice and shiny, and some bullet wound wasn't going to ruin that.

"At least it'll match color-wise."

"Ha. Funny. Except dried blood is brown-ish. Now help me up." Homura snickered, but held out her hand in friendly assistance. Kyouko rolled her eyes. "Yes, offer your left hand to the person who's been shot in her left shoulder. Clever."

"Oh, you want me to use this hand?" Homura snapped. She raised her other hand, which was covered in a patchwork of red nuances. When the explosion went off, the extremity hadn't been completely shielded from the heat. It burned with dull pain, and did certainly not want to be used to touch anything solid.

"I told you those explosives of yours would screw you over one day. Fine..." Taking Homura's left hand, Kyouko dragged herself to her feet. With clenched teeth and closed eyes, not as much as a squeak escaped her.

"You should get home." Trying to tone down her condescending manners, Homura looked at Kyouko. The spilled blood had effectively ruined her clothes, adding the lovely adjective "blood-stained" to the already present "tattered and worn-out". The redhead didn't seem to mind though, perhaps she was more concerned with the actual bullet wound. Her crimson eyes, so often confident and intense, were restless and maybe a little frightened. Kyouko was strong and decidedly animal-like, but she was still human. "No use in you staying here."

"Yeah, sure. I'll leave after I watch you kill Mami." Homura flinched at the cold statement, as if the thought of ending the blonde's life was an idea completely alien to her, which it wasn't. However, Homura's strategic mind had already devised a plan of sorts. "You are gonna kill her...right?"

"Kyouko, listen. I don't care about Mami Tomoe. I used to, I even considered her somewhat of an equal at one point. I bet you did too. Now...she's nothing. But I still have a use for her. So...no. She lives, for now."

Baring fangs, Kyouko wanted to argue. She wasn't an overly violent person, she just had her sense of justice and law. To her, it was simple. A Puella Magi had tried to kill them. She had failed, and should be killed in return.

"Give me one good reason why we shouldn't just stomp her face in. She-"

"-shot you, so I've heard." Homura cut Kyouko off, waving her hand impatiently. "If you have to know...if I'm the one responsible for Mami's death, Madoka will have a hard time trusting me."

"So _I _will stomp her face in then. That's not rocket science either."

"You, me, doesn't matter. If she dies here, I'm worried someone might try to turn Madoka against us. You know, since I'm trying to stop her from making the contract."

"You mean Kyuubei?"

"Mami knew about my powers, Kyouko. That little rodent is the only one who could possibly have given her that information."

Kyouko sighed deeply and repeated the one thing that made her accept Homura's reasoning, over and over in her head. _Sayaka. Sayaka. Sayaka._ The time traveler was doing this for her equivalent of Sayaka. Kyouko understood, had to understand. Anything else wouldn't be fair. After all, she found herself wishing that the blunette wasn't a stubborn magical heroine far too often.

"Fine. This is what I meant, Hom. Why I wanted to talk to you from the beginning. We're on common ground, you and I, we understand each other."

"Don't call me that. But yeah...I guess we do." It was a strange moment, the two lingering on a floor painted with blood and scorch marks. They looked at each other, crimson met violet, and they both felt content with their unexpected friendship. Neither of them acknowledged these feelings in any way.

Kyouko walked over to the door, a tight grip on her left arm. Feeling a little choked on negative emotion, the redhead noticed something that could easily change that.

"Say, Homura?" A voice more velvety had rarely been heard.

"Mm?"

"I think your hand wasn't the only thing the fire got a hold of."

"What are you talking about?" Kyouko's amusement tripled when she realized that Homura wasn't even aware of the explosion's effect.

"Let me put it this way...my dried-blood-dilemma suddenly feels very insignificant." It took about one second for Homura to fully understand what the her friend was saying. When she did, her hand immediately ran down the length of her hair. The usual silky smoothness was interrupted by abrupt gaps, missing pieces of raven hair. Generally speaking, it was still the same length as always. However, as the shortest intact lock was about shoulder blade-length...

"Don't worry, Homura." Kyouko was trying her best not to laugh, as it hurt more than it was worth. Her best wasn't enough. "I'm sure you'll look stunning in short hair!"

Then the door slammed shut, leaving a perplexed Homura alone in her quirky apartment, internally boiling with embarrassment. Well, practically alone, anyways. The girl gave the unconscious Mami a dry glare.

"Okay. New plan. I'm going to stomp your face in." This burst of lighthearted yet dark humor came as natural to Homura Akemi as any sarcastic input or dry reply. As she located Madoka's number on her cell phone, and went over what to say in her head, she realized that she was changing again. Hopefully, this time it would be for the better.

And it would all be thanks to Kyouko Sakura.


	5. Purple Heart

**AN: I know you were all expecting a conclusion to the Mami conflict...or for some of you, the epic mourning of Homura's lost hair (I don't even). But no, that's Chapter 6, I'm afraid. Aren't I horrible? Even so, please enjoy the all-Kyouko chapter, and thanks for all the feedback and reviews, I really do appreciate every single one of them. **

* * *

><p>Kyouko was, to put things bluntly, pissed off. Not outright furious, but annoyed to the point of sizzling anger. She was angry at Mami, for inexplicably shooting her. Sure, she had taken over the Mitakihara territory, but it was officially Sayaka's area. And Kyouko was fairly sure that Sayaka and Mami were somewhat good friends. Though the blonde didn't seem to be completely sane, so maybe that sort of reasoning was a wasted effort.<p>

Her shoulder was fine, really. She could move her arm freely, and the wound didn't bleed or anything. But it still hurt _a lot_. Kyouko could understand that Sayaka wanted to distance herself from pain, but she also thought it cowardly and unnatural. You know, as if having your soul stuck inside a gem wasn't.

She realized how lucky she had been. All Puella Magi were protected from most outer harm, bone fractures and whatnot, simply because they healed quickly. Damage to the head was still a big concern, as a good whack would still knock you out cold, as demonstrated a few minutes earlier.

As for more serious wounds, the problem of bleeding out was mostly non-existent. But Kyouko figured that a direct shot to the chest, from a magical weapon no less, would've been disastrous. She could picture a bullet shattering her ribs, sending razor sharp bone bits into heart and lungs. According to Kyuubei, something as severe as that would still heal all the same, but one could never take that kind of pain without using Sayaka's method. Kyouko was once again struck with how incredible repulsive the truth about magical girls was. To withstand and overcome pain, that was strength. To remove yourself from it completely felt like something a witch would do.

Her anger was indirectly aimed at Homura as well. Mami needed to die as soon as possible, that the time traveler wasn't making herself any favors by keeping her alive. Kyouko could understand that Homura wanted to be cautious, but that didn't soothe her uneasiness.

But the primary target of her emotions, the person that made the redhead's blood boil at mere thought, was Hitomi. And right now, Kyouko walked briskly through the city with confrontation in mind. Despite what Homura thought, the anger wasn't all jealously or even personal interest. Kyouko was genuinely disgusted with Hitomi's shamelessness, how she could so easily toy with the feelings of someone she allegedly loved.

She needed something concrete to take out her anger on. Thus, she made her way to Hitomi Shizuki's house, a building she had located by following the girl after her and Sayaka's talk.

_Homura would be proud. _She joked to herself. Kyouko didn't intend to cause any real harm to Hitomi, she just wanted to shake her up a bit. Mark her territory, so to speak. Ironically, and this fairly obscure irony escaped Kyouko at the time, Hitomi had once again managed to get between a Puella Magi and her unknowing beloved.

Things probably wouldn't work out very well this time either.

**-I-**

It's a tad unfair to call Hitomi generic. But her outward appearance and manners, behavior and reactions, were for all intents and purposes very standard. A lazy glance would quickly peg her as the sophisticated, calm and sensible type. A person who was quiet but not shy, insistent but not demanding. A higher middle-class girl.

This was all true and well, most days of the week. But as is with most people, not everything can be told about them by a simple look. Thankfully, this applied to Hitomi as well.

The green-haired girl currently sat silently in her room, tapping away at a shiny new keyboard in front of a not-so-shiny computer. The ergonomically correct chair creaked obediently when Hitomi shifted her weight and leaned back with a smile. Long chains of words stretched far and wide across the screen, neatly weaving a black and white work of art.

_Not too shabby. _Hitomi bit her lip thoughtfully while fanning herself with the back of her hand. The weather had gone from warm and windy to outright sultry in a matter of hours, and hardly anyone inside appreciated this. Sure, there was air-conditioning and windows to open, but Hitomi knew better than to leave her chair when inspired. Artists suffer, and all that.

Though when she finally got up and walked across the room, her bare feat brushing along the soft cream-colored carpet, she didn't really feel like she was suffering. When the spotless window was slid open and invigorating air rushed in, "suffering" was just a meaningless and distant noun.

Needless to say, Hitomi Shizuki was in a good mood. She had finally confessed to Sayaka, and she thought the talk had gone well. The kiss at the end had been decidedly impromptu, but it had been a nice touch and maybe also some sort of confirmation. There was however no way of telling how Sayaka would react next time they met, but Hitomi felt confident that she could handle anything thrown at her. She expected anger and confusion, she almost accounted for hatred or perhaps indifference. A betrayal of such scale could shatter any friendship, especially one as lop-sided as theirs.

Hitomi lingered by the window, idly scanning the houses opposite to hers. A late afternoon like this, plenty of people walked the streets, enjoying the cooling evening breeze. She considered going for a walk as well, but decided to stay by the computer. Her writing had improved, and the emotional roller coaster that was her current life provided both inspiration and material.

Said and done. She sat down in the comfortable swivel chair, mouse in hand. Before she could click up the text document she was working with, a blinking icon in the right hand corner of the screen caught her attention. Clicking it, a chat box popped up. Hitomi was pleasantly surprised when she saw that the message was from no other than Madoka. Even if the shy girl wasn't the most technologically adept person, being able to connect with her friends was something she didn't want to miss out on.

"_Hi Hitomi-chan! Sorry for running off today." _The message and the online conversation that followed contained copious amounts of emoticons and lazy abbreviations. Most of these came from Madoka.

"_You could've at least woken up Sayaka for me."_

"_Heh, sorry. How is she? I would be so embarrassed to come to school with a black eye!" _

"_She's holding up. I think she was more annoyed than embarrassed, honestly."_

"_That's Sayaka-chan for you."_

"_Yeah. Madoka, if you don't mind me asking, why did you have to leave? Sayaka said something about mischief, I'll recall."_

"_Um...yeah, I guess you could call it that. I kind of snuck out of the house really early without saying anything. My parents are pretty 'disappointed' with me, so now I have to come home immediately after school for a while."_

"_Why did you sneak out then? A secret romantic meeting, perhaps?" _Usually it was Sayaka who made those sort of comments, but Hitomi was in a playful mood. She could almost picture Madoka blushing lightly on the other end.

"_Hitomi-chan! I was just...helping out a friend. That's all."_

"_If you say so..." _Despite the slightly evasive answer, she appreciated Madoka's honesty. Hitomi would go to great lengths to keep their friendship intact, Sayaka included.

"_You're so mean. Hang on, someone's calling."_

The chat box went silent for a few minutes. Hitomi idly played Minesweeper until the final message arrived, hastily typed.

"_Gotta go. See you tomorrow."_

Before Hitomi had time to type back, Madoka logged off. A little stumped, the girl simply stared at the screen for a few seconds, wondering what the call had been all about.

In the end, Hitomi just shrugged to herself and got back to writing. It was not even a proper hobby, the short stories she wrote, but she felt that they were a good way of expressing herself. The green-haired girl loved poetry and would've preferred writing some, but she had a hard time getting any real flow in poems and the end result felt forced.

So short stories it was. Tapping away at the ivory white keys, Hitomi lost herself in spiraling paragraphs and twisting plot. That was, until she got hungry. Leaving the computer on and the window open, she went downstairs. Because even artists have to eat.

**-I-**

Some minutes later, Kyouko made her way up to the aforementioned window. A nimble person by nature, the magical enhancements made her comparable to a ninja. Not that Kyouko actually knew that the window led to Hitomi's room, she just assumed that it would be on the top floor. After quickly checking that no one was inside, she entered, opening the window as far it would go in case she would need to make a quick getaway.

Imagine the girl's surprise when she realized that she'd found the right room straight away. The walls were a light gray, an extremely neutral color that was strangely soothing to look at. The rest of the space was simplistically decorated; a creamy white and fluffy carpet against light wooden planks, a fairly unused bookshelf next to the low bed, a fancy-looking glass desk complimented by an even fancier-looking swivel chair and a blocky computer.

Kyouko figured that she wasn't in any kind of hurry, and decided to simply wait. Hitomi was probably home, if her computer was on. Caught by the impulsive temptation to look for something that wasn't any of her business, the redhead sat down in the swivel chair, ears perked for any sound from the door behind her.

A wall of text stared back at her. Skimming through the page, Kyouko deemed the material uninteresting and irrelevant. Even if the per definition poor girl probably hadn't ever sat in front a computer of her own, she was a rowdy teenager. Handling her generation's medium of communication was like second nature.

Following this logic and a user-friendly interface, Kyouko found her way to Hitomi's mail inbox. A bit paranoid, the intruder looked over her shoulder, listening intensely for any worrying sounds.

Eventually, the paranoia was pushed aside by curiosity, and she turned back to the computer. Scrolling through Hitomi's received messages, a familiar name caught her attention.

**I-**

_From: [Kyousuke Kamijou]  
><em>_To: [Hitomi Shizuki]  
><em>_Subject: [Re: cinema?]_

_Yes, it's me alright. Don't worry, you didn't ask some 34-year-old out on a date (am I allowed to call it that?). Exchanging email addresses is the wave of the future, probably. Doesn't mean one can't still appreciate letters, you know?_

_Anyway, I'd love to go see the movie with you. Thursday doesn't work for me though, sorry. It's the damn doctors, they insist on me coming for their check-ups every other day. I guess I can't blame them, considering my quite miraculous recovery, but it's still very enervating. Almost can't wait until they let me go back to school, despite everything I've missed. _

_So...Friday, Saturday? Get back to me._

_(There was supposed to be a nice closing phrase here, but I couldn't think of one that sounded affectionate but not overly so. Any suggestions?)_

**I-**

Kyouko read the message several times, until she was sure hadn't skimmed over anything important. It radiated friendliness and tentative affection, but the confident vibe of Kyousuke's words didn't fit with the broken husk of a being she'd seen lying in the hospital room Sayaka had visited. He was fine now, she reminded herself. On his way to a good life with his newly acquired girlfriend.

_Sayaka's wish gave him his life back. And it took away hers. _Enraged by how unfortunate the situation had been, Kyouko wanted to scream. She couldn't focus; it was Sayaka's fault for being so damn nice, it was Kyousuke's fault for being the pitiful little victim, it was Kyuubei's fault for even conducting his messed up a-wish-for-a-girl business to begin with.

Then, Kyouko noticed the date of the message. It had been received around a week ago. A mere week ago, Hitomi had asked Kyousuke to go to the movies with her.

_Funny,_ _she's so certain that their relationship is based on jealousy, but what does she do? Ah, she strings the guy along. Of course! That way, if Sayaka turns her down, she's still got another idiot to fall back on. Love...this chick doesn't even know what love means. _Kyouko begun to laugh silently. Fists clenched and shoulders trembling, she simply laughed humorlessly in disbelief. There was so much injustice, so many things wrong with all of this.

Something snapped. The chair fell to the floor with a loud rattling. Kyouko's unique Puella Magi weapon materialized in her hand. She spun around, a tornado of red shades and glittering metal. The spearhead sliced through the computer, and the entire thing folded into itself in an explosion of sparks, accompanied by the sound of glass shattering.

Kyouko huffed proudly, ignoring the sharp jolt of pain in her shoulder. As expected, she could hear the patter of feet running up a flight of stairs, and she knew it was time. She had to be calm, factual, emotionless. _Like Homura,_ she repeated to herself. _Like Homura._

The first thing Hitomi saw when she entered her room was the computer. Or more accurately, the smoldering heap of metal that used to be a computer. It looked so out of place that no words or actions came to mind. Then a movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention, just before the movement forcefully jabbed her in the chest with a sharp object.

Hitomi tumbled backwards into a wall, hitting it with a reflexive "oof". Looking up, her green eyes met a pair of cold crimson. In her room stood a teenage girl, and Hitomi's immediate impression was "red". Red eyes, dress, hair. Bits of pink and white thrown in, the color dominated, no, personified this girl. As for the outfit itself, it looked to belong at some exotic masquerade.

"Who are you?" With strained calm, Hitomi did her best to sound indignant, as if she couldn't believe that someone would have the nerve to break into _her _house. She had probably read somewhere that unexpected authority discouraged petty criminals.

"Just a person who hates to see her friend being treated like a toy. I'm not too fond of liars either." Kyouko had decided on the Homura-style lecture early. Acting mystical, speaking vaguely, it all gave off a sense of distance and superiority. The loud and angry method that the redhead was familiar with was prone to invoke rage, unhindered and uncontrollable.

"Look, I have no idea what you're talking about, but..." Sliding up the wall by using her hands, Hitomi had shifted to a negotiating tone when she heard the meaningless ramble. Not the usual rascally youth, she figured. "...you better get out of here before things turn bad."

"Oh, I've plenty of time." Looking at a wristwatch that didn't exist, Kyouko felt a chill of a satisfaction creep up her spine. She did have plenty of time. Lots and lots of time to develop this new character, this concerned friend. She regretted getting into her Puella Magi look, but the spear would probably come in handy. "And you _do _know what it is I'm talking about, Hitomi."

_Here it comes, with an inkling of fright..._

"How do you know my-"

"People talk, I listen. To reiterate, I hate to see my friend being treated badly. And right now, you are the one causing Miki-san harm." The "-san" and the calling-by-last-name was completely on the fly, just another new characteristic. Hitomi had lost all sense of vocal direction and just stood pressed up against the wall, bewilderment contorting her facial features.

"Sayaka? You know Sayaka?"

"A friend, like I said."

"I've known Sayaka for years." Suspicion overruled intimidation. Hitomi took a step forward, her emerald eyes stern with true indignation. "What kind of right do you have to break into my house and try to express concern over one of my friends!'?"

With the flick of the wrist, it was there. A straight spear, taller than both of the girls, its ridiculously large triangle-shaped head resting an uncomfortable distance from Hitomi's chest. All that indignation and resolution evaporated in a short shriek.

_Okay, maybe I should've done that from the start. But where's the fun in that?_

"Friends are friends, no matter how long you've known them." Kyouko held the spear leisurely in her left hand, the tip never wavering. Hitomi, to whom the weapon looked massive, couldn't understand how this girl could possess such strength. "She was really in love with that Kamijou, you do know that?"

The name was an accusation, it represented failure and indecisiveness. The green-haired girl flinched, suddenly feeling light-headed. Who was this wicked demon who had come to torment her, when she was finally content with her choice?

"I...I..."

"You make people suffer, Hitomi. You make Kyousuke suffer, by betraying his trust. You make me suffer, forcing me to see my friend get hurt over and over. I can forgive you for these things. But if you ever try to be anything more than Miki-san's friend, if you make her suffer more than she already has..."

Kyouko pulled her arm back, and tried her best not to grin widely as she thrust the glittering spear forward.

"...I'll kill you."

Hitomi screamed, and it was the sweet sound of justice brought by fear. The redhead had a proper conscience, but didn't feel bad in the least. This was just punishment.

Eyes clamped tightly shut, Hitomi could feel the vibrations as the tip of the weapon pierced the wall an inch from her head. For an entire week, she'd been plagued by nightmares and depression, all revolving around Sayaka and Kyousuke. Now, when she tried to make things right, she had to suffer even more. Did she really deserve this?

Silent seconds passed. They formed minutes. Sweaty and freezing, Hitomi refused to look. It was like shutting out a bad dream, you just had to keep your eyes closed. Eventually, the tension itself pried her eyelids apart. The room was empty. No girl, no spear. The window was open all the way, letting in a cool breeze that felt like invisible ice to her exposed skin.

The computer was in ruins, a literal wreck of gray metal and electronic components. The device itself meant nothing to Hitomi, but the sight of it made her teary-eyed. It hadn't been some sort of bad dream. Sayaka might forgive her, but the mysterious red girl had made it clear that she wouldn't.

Not being a person who cried her way through hardships, Hitomi Shizuki slumped down on her bed apathetically and tried to get a grip on what had just happened. Her good mood was gone, replaced by familiar doubts and incipient fear. She stayed in her room for the remainder of the day.

**-I-**

An middle-aged man gave the teenager an angry glare as he passed her on the sidewalk. Dressed in nothing short of _rags_, she was shoving her face into a melon slice, spitting seeds as she went. _Rude little brat_, thought the man and suddenly felt very old.

This teenager didn't return the glare, nor did she actually notice it. Kyouko Sakura's head was buzzing with thoughts, the most immediate one being satisfied by the sweet fruit.

_That should keep that bitch off Sayaka for a while. She would be proud of me, resolving things so peacefully. It's getting late...should probably start heading towards her house. She'll go insane if I keep her from hunting tonight. Tch, we might focus on familiars today. Just...I dunno, as a 'sorry' for the eye. _

As she walked, Kyouko faintly wondered how Homura's meeting with Madoka had gone. She had next to no clue what her friend was up to, but it was surely a very intricate plan involving Mami. Homura was a little too clever for her own good. Over-thinking things was her suit, for good or bad.

_God, the way Homura talks is so boring! You don't really understand it until you try it yourself, but it's awful. Sure, it fits her personality, but it's not the most appealing thing ever._

The evening colors were reflected in the slow-flowing river, and Kyouko tried to spit a seed into the strip of water. The black projectile didn't quite make it.

The evening turned to night. Huddling up at their usual meeting point, the redhead started to think that Sayaka wouldn't show up. She didn't have a watch, so she couldn't be sure of the time, but she had a feeling. Then again, that would've been a good sign. A sign that Sayaka valued a good night's sleep more than a hunting session.

But Kyouko didn't want that to happen tonight. After the "talk" with Hitomi, she had made a decision. One that made her hands tremble and her hunger subside. She was going to confess to Sayaka.

_I can't keep playing my games anymore. I thought I had time. But she needs to know how I feel now, before she can forgive Hitomi. Maybe I should even tell her about what I did...I could tell about the e-mail, make her understand that she's being played- _

"Did I keep you waiting?" Always with something teasing in it, the distinct voice woke Kyouko from her thoughts. She looked up and smiled, taking in the beautiful sight that was her own little student, the heroic and righteous Sayaka Miki. The girl she loved.

"Not really. What's with the eye?"

"You punched me, remember?" Even with that sort of sentence, the blunette remained smirking. Kyouko realized what it was the made her so excited. It was prospect of a night of saving lives, of killing witches. She really was addicted to it.

"Nonono, I mean...it's still visible." A red-black ring encircled the crystalline blue that was Sayaka's eye. As she got closer, Kyouko got a better view of the girl. Albeit still stunningly pretty, her eyes were tired and blank. Her left ankle was wrapped in a purple-red bruise, and the redhead could've sworn that the heroine was limping.

"So?"

"You look...beat up. What happened to your regenerative abilities?"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, teach." Even if Sayaka's tone was dismissive, Kyouko couldn't let it go. Something was wrong.

"Sayaka, I'm serious. Little blemishes like that usually heals right off ya in seconds. Let...let me see your Soul Gem."

"What?" Instinctively, Sayaka closed the hand that bore her silver ring. "Why?"

"Just let me see it."

The blunette would've protested and made a big deal out of it. She would've, if she hadn't been so tired. Weeks of fragmented sleep had done a real number on her. But above the physical exhaustion, Sayaka's mind was a mess. Hitomi's revelation had torn up forgotten feelings, along with new ones. She was here right now to forget about all that. The last thing she wanted was to argue with Kyouko. So she shifted her ring into its egg-shaped form, and handed it over.

The metal casing was dull and slightly darker in color. The soft aquatic glow the gemstone normally radiated was now a blue flicker, and a brown-black substance had coated parts of the inside. Sayaka looked down in embarrassment as Kyouko examined the state of her soul. The redhead's expression was inscrutable.

"This is pretty bad..."

"Kyouko, I'm fine. I promise I-"

"Clearly, I need to stop hogging the Grief Seeds when it's you who's doing all the work. My bad." Kyouko yawned and gave the stone back with an uninterested gesture. Sayaka was undoubtedly relieved, and her cheeks were red with shame. The "-sensei" suffix suddenly seemed very appropriate.

"I blame Homura, honestly." Suppressing every loving impulse, Kyouko flung her arm around Sayaka's neck and grinned. "She offered me your Seeds, when everybody knew that I would've started tutoring you either way."

"Is that so?"

"Yup. You were so awful, I knew I had to do help you somehow."

"You're a regular saint. What's happened to your shoulder?" The trace amount of worry the last question carried made Kyouko smile inwardly.

"I'd rather not tell you. Tomorrow after...don't freak out...school, we'll pay Homura a visit. You two don't see each other half as often as you should."

"Shut up. Is it bad news?"

"Honest? It's never good news with Homura Akemi."

As the two walked off towards a shadier district in search of corruption and grief, they both felt happy to be in each other's company. Their quarrel this Monday morning was for the time being insignificant. Sayaka in particular felt at ease. This was a life away from life, straight and simple. One she could handle.

Kyouko, after seeing the Soul Gem, decided not to say anything about her feelings. There would come a moment when things would be less complicated, when Sayaka's life would be a tad easier. Then she would tell her. She could wait. As long as she got be around this person she loved, she could wait.

Kyouko told herself this with great conviction, but the question still burned in the back of her head. Did she care about the right time because it was the best thing for Sayaka, or because she wanted her love to have the best chance of being reciprocated?

She wasn't sure.


	6. Aqua Regia

**AN: ****Sorry to anyone who got a little upset at Chapter 5. I really didn't consider the ending of Chapter 4 a cliffhanger, I actually think I did a good job separating Kyouko and Homura's storylines. In any case, I hope y'all find this chapter worth the wait. It has an incredibly obscure and far-fetched title, so you know it's gonna be good. Right?**

**This story currently has an average of six reviews per chapter. How awesome is that? I'll tell you. Very. **

* * *

><p>"<em>Hello?" <em>Madoka's cheery tone never felt forced to Homura. It belonged with the optimistic girl, it was made and unarguably perfect for her.

"Madoka? It's Homura."

"_Oh, hi! What's up?" _The raven-haired girl looked around in her apartment. There was a lot of possible answers to such an innocent question.

"We have a problem. It's Mami."

Madoka went quiet, and Homura could almost feel the pain she inflicted just by mentioning the blonde's name. Beyond all the sadness and misfortune, a single word echoed teasingly inside Homura's head. _Accessible._

"_What about her?"_

"I...shouldn't tell you over the phone. It would be best for you to come here. See it for yourself."

"_Where are you?" _Instead of the expected reaction, Madoka's voice came back neutral and stern. Homura blinked in brief surprise.

"At my apartment. You remember where it is, right?"

"_Yeah, I think so. Except..." _There was a pause as Madoka remembered that she wasn't allowed to leave the house. Despite the fact that her parents hadn't even circled the word "punishment", Madoka knew that she was effectively grounded.

"Except what?"

"_...nothing. It's nothing. I'll be there as soon as I can."_

"Good. See you then."

"_Bye."_ Sighing, Homura let her phone slip into her pocket. She opened and closed her right hand, wincing at the itching sensation it caused. The fire hadn't as much as touched it, but the heat had made its own impression. _God bless magical regeneration, right? _The time traveler snorted, not paying the minor injury any more attention.

**-I-**

"_Gotta go. See you tomorrow." _Feeling just a little bad over not being able to tell Hitomi why she had to go, Madoka typed the quick sentence into the chat box and turned her computer off. It had been nice, just sitting and chatting with a friend. And then Homura had called.

While pondering how to get out of the house, her mind was continuously painting grueling scenarios in her head. She couldn't imagine what had happened if Homura, who quite obviously didn't like Mami, had to call for her to come over.

_She's gotten drunk again, gone and done something stupid. What if she's hurt someone?_

Madoka briefly considered sneaking out of the house, but deemed it impossible. She was too clumsy and uncertain of herself, and even if she succeeded, another excursion would surely make her parents give her a proper punishment.

Her mother wasn't home, leaving the father to deal with. Madoka tried out a few excuses in her head, but none of them felt very convincing. The timid girl wasn't a liar, simple as that, and she would have to come up with a better way of dealing with the situation.

_Or herself? Oh my god, what if she has hurt herself? Was that why Homura called me...because she's found Mami...dea-_

With a face reflecting all of her worry, Madoka stepped into the kitchen. Tomohisa Kaname looked up from his read; yesterday's newspaper. Kind eyes, very similar to Madoka's, peered over a pair of glasses.

"What's wrong, Madoka?" His daughter looked distraught, her hands fumbling around nervously. She'd been like this for some time now, and even though the concerned father had asked the same question many times, he had only gotten vague answers in return. It was more reflexive at this point than anything else.

But to his surprise, Madoka walked up and sat down by the table. She sighed, ran her hand through a bundle of pink bangs, and cleared her throat.

"I-I'm...ready to tell you what happened last Saturday."

Madoka had come to a conclusion. She couldn't lie to her father, so she would tell him the truth. Almost the entire truth, in fact. All she was going to leave out was the part where teenage girls were granted magical powers by aliens.

"_When you're ready to tell us what happened, we will listen. In the meantime, we're going to have a hard time trusting you, Madoka." _Tomohisa remembered his exact words, fair and told in a considerate manner. He hadn't expected anything to come of it, but seeing how his daughter had taken the words to heart, he felt proud. Proud of his own parenting, but also of Madoka's maturity.

"I'm glad." The paper rustled as he folded it twice and put it away. As he was practically radiating acceptance, Madoka managed to relax a little.

"A month or so ago, me and Sayaka-chan met an upperclassman named Mami Tomoe." Madoka spoke with certainty, never hesitating as she knew that it would be interpreted as sign of a lie. "We became friends and she hung out with us a lot after school. We were always at her place. She said she didn't feel comfortable in other people's homes."

"How come?" Tomohisa wished his wife by his side. Junko was so much better at telling if someone was lying or not.

"I don't know. Maybe she was just shy. Tomoe-san was very lonely before she met us. She didn't have any friends, and her parents travel a lot in their work, so they're rarely home. We've only met them once or twice. And then..." Madoka felt a lump in her throat, and had to momentarily pause and swallow before continuing. She was unaware that the pause had been excellently timed. "...something happened."

"Something...?"

"I don't know, Dad. She just became depressed, didn't want to leave her house or anything. Maybe something happened at school, we didn't want to ask."

Tomohisa believed his daughter, had no reason not to. Someone like Madoka wouldn't sit and lie about something as serious as this. He was right. Madoka only lied about details, like Mami's parents. The rest was either completely true or slightly tweaked.

"What about her parents?"

"Tomoe-san's parents are out of the country right now. I snuck out that Saturday to go to her house. She just...needed someone. A friend."

"Why didn't you just tell us, Madoka?"

"I knew you would get worried, and you would want to contact her parents. Tomoe-san doesn't want them to worry about her, especially as there is nothing they can do."

"Well, you were right."

"Dad, please. She's just going through a hard time right now. As long as she has us, she'll be fine, I promise."

Tomohisa took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes with an exasperated sigh. He didn't like to deal with these kind of decisions, but he was still glad that Madoka had told him about the situation. She wasn't lying, the father was sure of this.

"Madoka...you've always been too kind. I suffer from the same fault, as your mother often reminds me. But I suppose there is nothing wrong in helping a friend out, especially if things are the way you say they are. I'm guessing you told me this because you want to go to her right now?"

Madoka nodded vigorously, not wanting to interrupt.

"Well, you have my permission. But if you ever plan on doing something like this again, just tell-"

In the blink of an eye, Madoka got up and ran to the other side of the table. She wrapped her arms around her dad, this sympathetic man that she loved so much that it almost hurt, and thanked him over and over again. Tomohisa was slightly taken aback, but chuckled softly and returned his daughter's embrace.

"Can you drive me?"

"Ah, I would, but we can't leave Tatsuya here all alone, now can we?" He ruffled Madoka's pink locks teasingly, amused by the fact that she had forgotten all about her younger brother who was currently sleeping peacefully in his bed.

"Guess not. I'll just take the bus then." Suddenly reminded that she was actually in a hurry, Madoka let go of her father. Worry once again started to fill her heart, and her thoughts wandered to Mami and Homura. Saying goodbye and adding a few thank-you's, she left Tomohisa Kaname alone in the kitchen.

The proud parent picked up his newspaper and continued reading. Part of him itched with concern for the upperclassman, this Mami. But in the end, his thoughts were wasteful and like Madoka had said, there was really nothing he or the girl's parents could do.

_You're lucky, Mami Tomoe. You're lucky to have a friend like Madoka._

**-I-**

Mami's body lay propped up against a dark blue pad, arms along her sides. She looked surprisingly decent considering her mental state, Homura thought. But seeing as the time traveler had been close to insanity herself, and still looked more than decent, mental evaluation through physical appearance maybe wasn't that reliable.

Homura felt a slight pang of worry. Her injuries and the damaged apartment was proof enough of Mami's little episode, but she would've felt more comfortable with Kyouko by her side. After all, all damage she'd sustained was because of her own incendiary.

_Madoka won't doubt you. _She told herself. _She knows very well what Mami is like these days. Don't over-think this, Homura. You're doing well this time. Even without Mami, you'll have two other Puella Magi by your side when facing the Walpurgisnacht. And most importantly, Madoka is out of harm's way._

_This is the final timeline. No more rewinds, no more pain. Me and Madoka, Kyouko and Sayaka. What are the odds that things will end up like that? Laughable..._

Homura could feel tears sting her eyes, and shook her head angrily. She wasn't going to go weak now. This was far from over, and she had to stay strong until the very end. Then, and only then, would she allow herself to cry.

She approached the lifeless girl, and kneeled down in front of her. Mami was breathing almost unnoticeably, and the only thing that told about their battle was a small cut above her right temple, red-brown with coagulated blood.

"I wasn't lying, you know." Homura stated in an indifferent voice. "I did consider you an equal once. And before that, I even looked up to you. Believe it or not, I'm sorry it has to end like this. I can't save you all, Mami. I can't."

A repeated thumping broke the speech, and Homura flinched, as if she'd been caught doing something she shouldn't. Someone was knocking on the door with cautious knocks, perfectly spaced apart. The raven-haired girl stood up and walked across the room. Steeling herself for the meeting to come, she opened the door.

"Good afternoon, Madoka." Homura greeted her formally, almost solemnly. Despite the circumstances, the shy girl smiled at her friend with warmth and returned the greeting.

"Come in." Homura turned around and walked back into the apartment, and suddenly realized what was coming. Madoka was a curious person, spoke before thinking, and would most likely say something like:

"Homura-chan, what's happened to your hair?" The time traveler cringed, imagining how her once lengthy and even locks must look now. Even if she was far from a vain person, no one wanted to hear the question "what's happened?" referring to your appearance. Homura made a silent promise to cut it properly short as soon as possible.

"Causalities, Madoka. Kyouko says I'll look 'stunning' in short hair though, so I'm not worried." The daft attempt at lightening the mood was effectively ignored, as Madoka had just noticed the charred and bloodied floor. She gave a short gasp, covering her mouth with her hands.

"What happened here?"

"Mami happened. She's right-" And then Madoka noticed the still body of her blonde friend. Her shoes clattered against the white floor as she ran to Mami's side. Homura felt inexplicably frustrated. "...there."

"What did she do?" There was some hope in Madoka's voice when she noticed that Mami wasn't at all hurt, and Homura knew she had to kill it immediately. She felt the nauseating touch of jealously as the girl she loved gently brought golden strands of hair out of the way to get a better look at Mami's cut. Without her characteristic timidness, Madoka frowned at the tiny blemish.

"Well, let's see. She tried to kill me, and almost succeeded. She ruined some of my furniture. Oh, and she shot Kyouko."

"Oh my god...is she alright?"

"Well, you can see for yourself, can't you?" Homura's tone was borderline sulky.

"I didn't mean...I was talking about Kyouko-chan."

"Oh. Yeah, she just got shot in the shoulder. She'll be all healed up in a day or two."

"Good, I'm glad."

There was an awkward silence as the misunderstanding settled between them, and Homura was ashamed of her behavior. She wanted Madoka to trust her and more, she didn't deny the jealously that burned in her chest, but she wasn't about become disrespectful and snide because of it. Homura Akemi was better than that.

"Madoka, the reason I called you over-"

"Where is her ring?"

"What?"

"Her Soul Gem ring. She's not wearing it."

"No, she's not." Madoka looked up to see Homura take the piece of silver jewelery out of her pocket. "I had to keep her unconscious until you showed up somehow, and I prefer this method to repeatedly bashing her in the head."

"So that's why she's breathing so slowly?"

"Yes. Like I was going to say, this whole thing has gotten out of hand. Mami came close to killing both me and Kyouko, Madoka. We can't allow her to live, not like this."

The silence that followed was a depressing one. The giant pendulum in the middle of the room swung back and forth inexorably, insistently ticking. The screens or paintings or whatever they were flickered high above the two girls, showing a rainy field and a frozen image of Mami, among other things.

Madoka's shoulders started to tremble, and she clasped the hem of her skirt tightly. Silent tears ran down her cheeks, and small sniffs escaped her petite body. Homura found the scene as heartbreaking as odd. She had expected an outburst from Madoka, loud protests and rants about how she could help Mami. But instead, the pink-haired girl looked at Homura with such resignation and despair that the time traveler for a second wished that Mami would've been fine.

"I know...I know...she hasn't b-been herself since she woke up. I-It's just cruel...to make her suffer like this. But why...why, Homura-chan? Why did you bring me here?" Madoka's voice cracked, and she fell to her knees clutching her stomach, as if in pain. Next to her, Mami's body twitched slightly. Homura noticed this, and put the blonde's ring on the floor before approaching Madoka.

_Accessible. Accessible. Sympathetic, in other words. Someone to relate to. Kyouko...were you just telling me to be nicer?_

"Do you think I want to hurt you, Madoka?" Homura kneeled down opposite the crying girl. "What if I would've done something to Mami without asking you? You were probably her best friend, right?"

Nod.

"So I wanted you to make the decision and to give your consent. I know it's painful, but wouldn't it have been excruciating to know that you didn't have a say in this?"

Another nod. Madoka glanced over at Mami's body, but in a moment of unhindered affection, Homura gently put her hand on her love's cheek, keeping her from turning her head.

"Hey...don't. Just make the decision."

"Homura-chan..." She was forced, guided into staring into her protector's eyes. Usually expressionless, condescending or accusing, their violet color now only reflected compassion and sympathy. Something coarse was being held against Madoka's skin, and she could discern the twitch of pain in Homura's face. "Your hand..."

"I'll be fine." Homura was scared. She was going too far, slipping into territory where everything was just pink, pink, pink, and all she wanted was to break down and tell Madoka everything. It would be so much easier...

"She did that too?"

"Yes."

The Puella Magi prodigy, the human who had withstood so much despair, made yet another painful choice. She gently took Homura's seared hand in her own, brought it down towards her lap, and let go. She looped her arms around Homura's neck, and soon felt the time traveler's hands on her own back. It's was an awkward hug, as both of the girls had to reach forward, their knees touching.

"I agree with you."

"Does that mean you-"

"Yes...yes. I know that Tomo...Mami-san wouldn't want to act so disgracefully, hurting others like this. It's...for the best."

Ignoring their quirky position, Homura put one hand on Madoka's head, in a way that hopefully was interpreted as comforting. She wanted to say something, a lot of things, but it was not the time nor the place for any of them. So she stayed quiet.

"Thank you, Homura-chan." whispered Madoka Kaname. "Thank you for calling me."

"Don't mention it. Anything else would've been unacceptable." Her back protesting at the weird angle it was bent in, Homura was forced to lean back. Their arms returned to their sides, Madoka's making a detour to wipe away a leftover tear.

"I better go."

"I'll take care of everything. Don't worry."

The pink-haired girl did her best to keep her mind off what was going to happen after she left, and what Homura was going to do. As she got up, she found herself filling her head with the imprint of indigo eyes and the recent embrace, pushing aside images of a blonde idol, righteous and motherly.

"Would you mind coming over tomorrow, about the same time? There is something we have to discuss."

"We?"

"Us Puella Magi. I could just tell you and Sayaka at school, but it's a lot of information and Kyouko needs to know as well...is there a problem?"

"No, I'll be here." Madoka said, ignoring the notion that her earlier truth would now turn into a lie, suppressing the voice that asked why she hadn't helped Mami like she'd promised her father.

Homura watched as the brave girl opened the door to the apartment, turning her head midway through the doorway to give a final, reassuring smile. From that distance, Homura could easily tell that it wasn't a sincere one.

"Bye, Homura-chan." Madoka chirped lightly, but unconvincingly.

"This isn't your fault, Madoka. Remember that."

The door closed as carefully as it had been knocked on.

Instantly, the room filled with a bright violet light. Dressed in full Puella Magi attire, Homura gave a weird grown, filled with exhaustion as well as content. Gone was the pink veil that clouded her thoughts, and all that was left was pure, cold action.

She scooped up the amber-adorned ring and closed her hand around it. Her own diamond-shaped gem shone with a dull light, and Homura felt the object in her hand shift into something bigger and rounder. Opening her hand, Mami's Soul Gem was revealed.

If it had looked bad before, it was nothing compared to its current state. Most of the gem was filled with a thick, pitch-black liquid. However, an area close to the crack was almost completely clear. Homura didn't quite understand why this was, but concluded that the only reason that Mami hadn't turned into a witch yet was _because of _the crack. She made a mental note to try to find out more about this phenomenon before returning to the matter at hand.

She put the scuffed object down on the floor, and pulled out a handgun from the infinite compartment in her shield. The firearm was cold to the touch, and offered a comforting weight as Homura lined up her shot. As if the gem could tell what was going on, the solid black dissolved into tendrils of brown goo, suddenly reaching and stretching for the damaged area. The time traveler took a deep breath and pulled the trigger.

The shot echoed, even in the seemingly infinite room. There was a tiny spark of light inside the gem, a golden streak among the whirling brown and black. Then the bullet hit it. The gem shattered into a million pieces, leaving only the metal framework intact. After a few seconds, it darkened and crumpled up, like paper burning in a fire. The clump of metal withered away into a fine dust, and the body of Mami Tomoe stopped breathing.

Homura didn't feel a thing.

**-I-**

This eventful Monday was concluded by a grand sunset, only somewhat obscured by ridiculously pink-colored clouds. An Incubator, the one named Kyuubei, sat at the top of a telephone pole and watched the setting star. The creature was, for lack of a better term, excited. In reality devoid of feelings, he acknowledged the oncoming night with eagerness.

The alien couldn't explain it, but there was something in the air. Reminiscent of static electricity, it made his fur bristle and his ears twitch. It was potential energy, and lots of it. Kyuubei only knew one person who possessed that much raw power, but even her potential quantity couldn't compare to what he sensed right now. It wasn't just one. It was several.

This night would come to be as eventful as the day, apparently.


	7. Night of the Living Dead

**AN: ****So. The Puella Magi regeneration system. I'm fully aware of other's opinions on it, but even more so of my own. For simplification purposes, I have as of now stated the system I use as non-canon, as it will veer further and further from the anime's in the future. Therefore, there is no need to try to enlighten me about what you believe to be the correct system, because it won't be what I'm using. Okay? Okay.**

**At any rate, this chapter and the next might feel a lil' slow for some of you, but there is a lot of ends that need sorting out before the final showdown. But honestly, are you really here for the action scenes? I sure hope not. Please enjoy the hopefully well-detailed, seventh chapter!**

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><p>"Want some?" Kyouko held out a box full of dried meat to Sayaka, who was busy picking pieces of an unspecified yellow-white goo out of her hair. The blunette glanced at the brown strips of meat, and frowned in distaste.<p>

"What is that?"

"Spiced beef jerky. Delicious." Grinning, Kyouko wolfed down a pair of strips before offering her partner once more.

"I'll pass. Is it just me, or are the witches getting stronger?" The two were sitting in a poorly lit alley, surprisingly free of dumpsters and homeless people. They had decided on a short rest after a fairly annoying fight with the local creature of darkness.

"Nah, you're onto something. They have been acting up lately. Maybe it has something to do with killing too many, like...the ones that are left have room to grow more. Maybe there is some great delicate witch ecosystem or somethin'."

"You think?"

"Ah, the hell do I know? Just a theory." Putting the box away, Kyouko took a look at Sayaka. Reinvigorated by a few Grief Seeds, she looked a lot better. Her eyes had regained their azure intensity and the most minor of her injuries had healed. A few months ago, if someone had told Kyouko that she would give up her hunt for power to help out another Puella Magi, she would've laughed until she cried. It's funny how the world works. Or rather, it's funny how love works.

"How's the cut?" As if Kyouko needed another reason to inspect the blunette's features, Sayaka leaned over with her head turned. Red stripes ran from her temple across her cheek and down her neck. Just a few minutes earlier, said "stripes" had been bleeding profusely.

"Almost gone. You heal stupid fast, Sayaka. Why you would even need to use so much magic to insta-heal is beyond me."

"What do you mean?" Happy with the examination, the swordswoman rested her head back against the concrete wall. The night was not as chilly as the previous, and her jacket was recklessly unzipped.

"The thing where you distance yourself from your body. It uses up tons of magic, ya know. Most Puella Magi figure the trick out sooner or later, but they don't use it because it's inefficient. They'd rather just tough out the pain."

As always when the topic came up, Sayaka's cheeks heated with shame. Both because of her own inexperience, but also due to how strongly Kyouko felt about the technique. The redhead had been right about not using it, Sayaka's reflexes and overall perception had improved almost instantly. Pain was a pretty strong incentive like that.

"I had no idea."

"Yeah well, that's part of the reason I didn't want you to use it."

"Wise as always, Sakura-sensei."

"You know it." Emitting a yawn that sounded more like a growl, Kyouko got on her feet. The gray hoodie she wore was plenty to keep her warm tonight, her shoulder was almost fully healed, and the redhead almost felt like going after a few stray familiars just to further her student's good mood. "You done there yet?"

Sayaka chucked a lump of sludge down the alley, and ran both hands though her tangled hair. She cringed when they brushed against more of the tiny balls of goo, squishy and sticky like malevolent gum.

"I'm gonna go with no. What kind of witch has this crap as its weapon? It's just annoying!"

"Well, if you had shielded yourself instead of putting the barrier between me and that...stuff, then maybe you'd have the right to complain."

"If I had done that, you would be a ball of goo and I would be dead. Besides, you should be lucky I got a barrier up at all. I'm not really comfortable using those things yet."

"Those things" referred to Sayaka's energy shields, composed of equal parts magic and musical notes. They protected from most everything fairly well, but the focus and aptitude necessary to summon more than one, or to actually sustain one for an extended amount of time, wasn't quite there yet.

"I s'pose, thanks for that by the way. Now come on. Let's play heroes."

"Hm?"

"We could use something easy for a change. We'll ago ahead and track some familiars for an hour or so. Consider it a reward."

"For what?" Suspicion creeping into her voice, Sayaka got up and brushed herself off.

"For not breaking a single bone so far, how about that?" Giving the blunette a friendly shove, Kyouko started walking down the alley. Sayaka caught up to her in the narrow concrete corridor, cautiously uplifted by her teacher's considerate gesture.

"You're being awfully nice today, Kyouko."

"Uh-huh? Would you feel better if I punched you again?" Chuckling at her own joke, the redhead held up her Soul Gem. The stone flickered irregularly as she unconsciously scanned the immediate area for potential targets.

"Funny. You sure you're just not pitying me?"

"Dunno. Should I be?"

The two came out on the main street of the neighborhood, its sidewalks lined with crooked lamp posts and garbage. Kyouko stopped and looked in both directions, then decided walked left. Sayaka peered over her shoulder to take note of the increasingly frequent flashing of the red gem.

"Not really. It's not 'you'."

"Come again?"

"I'm just saying, you're not the type who pities people. You're the type who kicks them while they're down, then shout at them to get back up."

"Heh. Let me rephrase my question then: Is there a reason to be pitying you?" Old men and women, dressed far worse than Kyouko, passed the two girls occasionally. The district they were in was infamous for its poverty, and Sayaka couldn't help but to feel sorry for the people living there. But, at least they weren't dead.

"Honestly? Yeah, sure. But don't try to fool me into thinking you actually care."

"Damn it, Sayaka. Sometimes I think you know me better than I know myself. But seeing as this piece of rock is being very unreasonable, you might as well entertain us with a story. You'd think this area would be packed with familiars, considering all the easy targets..."

The student thought about it for a second or two. She didn't like to bring up her normal life around Kyouko, and wasn't exactly fond of the idea of discussing something as personal as Kyousuke and Hitomi. But she was extremely confused about the whole situation, and maybe talking about it would help. Not to mention that her teacher's relatively kind attitude tonight made her feel fairly comfortable. Sayaka was too tired to be suspicious, or embarrassed, or even thoughtful.

"You know the guy in the hospital?"

"Your little love interest? Sure." Letting Sayaka catch up to her, Kyouko smiled inwardly. She was childishly happy that the blunette could share something so personal with her. _Maybe my own confession isn't that far away after all, _she pondered optimistically as Sayaka started to explain who Hitomi was.

**-I-**

A black garbage bag was tucked away neatly under the low bed. In it was the wreckage of a computer, the metal and glass carefully arranged in a way that would keep sharp pieces from poking a hole in the bag.

Hitomi lay in bed, unable to fall asleep. Despite the generous temperature in the room, the girl was wrapped in several layers of sheets. Even so she was shivering, but it wasn't from cold. She felt feverish, sweating and freezing at the same time.

Unable to cope with the actual heat or the non-existent cold, Hitomi fought her way out of the cocoon. When trying to get out of the bed, her legs caught onto a tangle of sheets and she fell to the wooden floor with an embarrassing _thump_. Her window provided a rectangular ray of nightly light, which caressed her lithe form as she scrambled to her feet.

Ignoring the noise she was making, Hitomi staggered out of her room. The quick change from horizontal to vertical position had made her slightly dizzy, and it was mostly by memory that she located the bathroom.

Taps were hastily turned and a stream of crystal clear water poured out. Hitomi cupped her hands, noting that the liquid didn't feel hot nor cold. The second she splashed the water across her face, she knew that it had been a good idea. It washed away the underlying nausea, woke her up from that apathetic state that was so common when you felt sick. The shivers persisted however, somehow worse now that she was wet.

Looking up into the mirror above the sink, Hitomi was taken aback with how...unaffected she looked. Despite feeling like she could collapse at any second, despite having more conflicting thoughts than she cared to acknowledge, she looked good. Her curly mint-colored hair was as shiny and smooth as always, her brilliant eyes nothing but aglow. Her serene face; cutesy, neat and currently dripping with water was nigh flawless. Hitomi herself almost couldn't believe that she was feeling horrible right now.

Because she was unhappy alright. Death threats tend to do that to a person. The image of the tall, red girl was stuck in Hitomi's mind, her words on replay.

"_You make people suffer."_

It's not like it was her fault. All she had done was follow her heart, showing great consideration in the process. She had given Sayaka every chance to confess to Kyousuke first. She had immediately admitted her mistake and newfound love as soon as she was sure of it. She had apologized, taken every imaginable step to hurt as few people as little as possible. Hitomi had been honest. That was far more than you could say about Sayaka.

"_You make people suffer."_

_And they make me suffer, keeping these things secret from me. Am I not their friend as well?_

Beneath all the sympathy and love, burning sludge pooled in the bottom of Hitomi's heart. It was a dark feeling, simmering just beyond mental reach, just making itself known. Exclusion.

_All I want is the truth. Even if that truth is that I can never know, that I couldn't possible understand, I would accept it. I just can't bear that they're trying to hide something so obviously important from me._

This injustice, combined with recurring guilt and shame over the Kyousuke affair, made something burst inside the conflicted girl. Feverish chills racked her body, and Hitomi Shizuki cried. But as to fit with her character, it was few and quiet tears. Silently sobbing, she left the bathroom and made her way back to her room. While slipping in through the slightly open door, Hitomi immediately noticed that the only window in the room was ajar. But before the panic and the unlikelihood that Sayaka's friend had returned could hit her, she noticed something else. There was an animal in the room.

At least, it looked like some sort of animal. The small creature sat in the rectangle of light on the floor, head curiously tilted to the side. Instead of looking inquisitive, it had a superior way about it, much like a cat. The ears also resembled a cat's, but the strange appendages that hung from them were definitely original. The creature's big, fluffy tail and overall vibe of cuteness was utterly annihilated by its eyes. The perfect circles of red and black were like lasers, cutting through Hitomi's mind and gently placing words about.

"_Hitomi Shizuki. Nice to meet you."_

Fairly jaded at this point, the green-haired girl shut the door behind her. The fact that an animal could talk, the fact that it did it through telepathy, the fact it knew her name. There were so many facts to question that none of them came directly to mind.

"Who are you?"

"_Relax. I'm not your enemy." _With that unsatisfactory statement, the white creature spun around and leaped onto Hitomi's bed. The girl wiped away a leftover tear and tried to gather her thoughts before cautiously approaching her newest visitor.

"Are you with her? The one with the spear?"

"_Kyouko? I know her, if that's what you're asking. By the way, you don't have to physically talk to me. Just think what you want to say."_

Hitomi's feet sunk into the soft carpet as she decided to stay put in the middle of the room. She was afraid, naturally, but something told her that this...thing could help her get some answers.

"_Like...this?"_

"_Yes. My name is Kyuubei. The girl you met, Kyouko Sakura, is a Puella Magi. A person with very potent magical powers. My job is to make a deal with potential girls, turning them into Puella Magi in exchange for a wish." _

Most of this speech passed right over Hitomi's head. Parts of her wanted to ignore the strange words of this figment of imagination and to go back to sleep. However, a bigger part knew that this wasn't a dream, and that this creature was the key to the secret that Madoka and Sayaka was keeping from her.

"_Wait...magic?"_

"_Yes." _Knowing the routine, Kyuubei the Incubator started explaining the basics of his work. Circumventing the usual topics that often deterred potential girls, he mesmerized Hitomi with his promises of a miracle and a chance to help people. He briefly talked about the witches and the looming possibility of death, some of the risks of being a magical girl. Kyuubei could explain all of this safely, because he knew that this girl wouldn't need any convincing. Kyouko had done something to her to put her off balance. Incapable of scrutinizing Kyuubei's offer, she was vulnerable.

"_Can I ask you a question?"_

"_Of course."_

"_You said you knew...Kyouko, was it? She claimed to know one of my friends, Sayaka Miki. You don't happen to...?_"

"_Kyouko as well as Sayaka have made the contract with me, so yes, I know them both." _Mentioning that Sayaka was a Puella Magi was completely irrelevant, but it had the desired effect. Hitomi realized the reason for the secrecy, for Sayaka's state at school, for all of the things that had corroded her with worry. She wondered if Madoka too had accepted this offer.

"_Then, I...want to make a wish." _

Kyuubei's tail flicked curiously.

"_It's a life-changing decision. I don't expect, nor do I encourage you to make it so hastily." _

"_I appreciate the advice, but I've already made my decision." _The wind roared to life outside, and a stray gust found its way in through the open window. Curtains flapped and Hitomi shivered, partly from the cold, partly from the way Kyuubei was staring at her.

"_Very well. State your wish, and I will be happy to grant it."_

"_I want to possess all knowledge of the Puella Magi and you, Kyuubei. I never want to feel left out again, and I want to be able to help my friends." _

The Incubator's red eyes gleamed as the darkness in the room somehow became darker. The wind in the room picked up, but it wasn't coming from outside anymore. The two strange appendages, each one with a golden ring levitating around it, came to life. Like extra tails, they flicked and swayed about in the air. Hitomi suddenly felt very scared.

"_A most interesting wish. It's been a long time since I've heard it."_

The appendages shot out towards the quivering girl. They stopped just short of her chest, and Hitomi felt a strange tug in the heart area. She wasn't sure if her vision was starting to fail her or if the room was actually darkening, but all she could make out was the alien creature's luminescent shape.

_This is for you, Sayaka. I made my life-changing decision a while ago, and this means nothing. This is all so strange...but I want to understand what you're going through, so that I won't hurt you any more. It's what a friend would do. And until you allow me otherwise, I will always be your friend._

There was pain, sudden and relentless. Hitomi fell to her knees, gasping for air. She could no longer breathe or see, and she was only aware of the horrid tugging feeling. It felt like someone was trying to literally rip her heart out, and her lungs with it. If she had been able to scream, she would've.

Kyuubei watched, still fascinated by the process after all these years. His small body was alight with something akin to electricity, his fur standing on end. The fluffy appendages sought the girl's soul, tugging and pulling and coaxing it out.

And then there was light. Shining with the color of sunlight filtered through thin leaves, the tiny orb that materialized painted the whole room green. Hitomi stared in disbelief at the small shard of light that was her untainted soul. She couldn't feel her body anymore, all that existed was her consciousness in the form of pure energy.

"_Accept your destiny, Hitomi Shizuki."_ Kyuubei's words were far away, inaudible, as she reached out and closed her hand around her soul, her mind, and the rest of her life.

The world went white. Green streaks embraced and caressed Hitomi's body as the room and Kyuubei disappeared. She felt as if she was standing inside the sun, heated up from the inside out by the divine light. She realized then that she was completely naked, but didn't feel the need to be embarrassed or even questioning. The streaks wove themselves into green ribbons, enveloping their owner and fitting snugly against her skin. They reacted to her and shaped accordingly, creating what would become a Puella Magi outfit.

Then it hit her. Her wish surged through her brain, flooding her neurons with trillions of images and associations. Hitomi instantly saw the true mission of the Incubators, Puella Magi turning witches, eons filled with pain and grief and unimaginable power. Hitomi witnessed and understood the inevitable fate of all magical girls, and the positive effect it had on the universe. There was more, but her conscious mind reached its full capacity and decided to shut down.

Hitomi Shizuki blacked out blissfully.

**-I-**

The night continued. Life pulsed through the concrete veins of Mitakihara, even as half its population slept peacefully. Cars roared along roads and night-open businesses bustled with people and energy. Someone passed away, someone was born. The never-ending cycle of life was represented within the city limits, and the world kept turning.

Madoka sat in her bed with her back against the wall. Stacked up around her were mountains of stuffed animals, not yet discarded or thrown out thanks to the fact that their owner was a strong believer in "nostalgic value". Madoka's bed sheets were all rolled up in a pile on the floor, as the room was fairly hot. Dressed in her pajamas and with a green plushie held tightly in her arms, the pink-haired girl sat and stared out the window.

She was supposed to be sleeping. She was supposed to get up the next morning and go to school, have fun, get educated. But how could she, knowing everything she did? Despite Homura's assurance, Madoka was hunted by thoughts questioning her decision.

The girl was all out of tears. She had started crying again as she hurried from Homura's apartment, wanting to get as far away from the place as possible. On her way home, she had huddled up in back of the bus and sobbed quietly. The entire afternoon had been a kaleidoscope of blurry textures and rainbow streaks, and Madoka almost thought it strange that she hadn't become dehydrated.

But now, there were no more tears. All that remained was gloomy depression and the knowledge that nothing was as it was supposed to be. Resting her head against the soft plushie, Madoka tried to suppress a pang of nausea. She mind was carefully poking around the oily thoughts that were just waiting to be thought of. Human nature craves that situations be examined and evaluated, and creates curiosity otherwise. And curiosity is like a bad itch. You will eventually choose to scratch it, even if you know it's going to hurt.

So Madoka thought about what had happened. And it hurt. She wondered what Homura was going to do with Mami's body, and buried her face in green fabric as the possibilities came to her. While being the personification of innocence, she'd still watched her share of detective series and crime-related movies. The repeated flashes of gruesome scenarios soon became mentally uninteresting, and the next heart-wrenching train of thought was about to begin when...

"_You seem troubled, Madoka." _Kyuubei sat at the end of the bed, still as a statue. The one statement shone like the sun through the girl's clouded mind, and Madoka felt a surge of gratitude towards the alien. She also completely forgot to talk through telepathy.

"Hi, Kyuubei." Madoka had all but stopped trusting the Incubator after the Mami incident, when the group had found out the truth about the Soul Gems. Even so, she had more trouble than the rest acting hostilely towards him. "I can't sleep."

"_Is it because of Mami?"_

"You know?"

"_I keep an eye on all of you, Madoka. It's my job, after all." _If thoughts could have a tone, Kyuubei's might've been interpreted as abrasive. Vocal communication revealed a lot of things telepathy didn't.

"I just...I can't stop thinking about her. I know I did the right thing, but I can't shake the feeling that this is all my fault."

"_I don't know why you would say that. It was Mami who got herself injured, and Homura who finally killed her. You're not even a part of the conflict." _Kyuubei padded over to Madoka, who put the green plushie away. The furry creature jumped into her lap and curled up comfortably, and she absent-mindedly begun to stroke him across his back, the palm of her hand brushing against red fur in the shape of an oval.

"But I think I was. I'm sure that Mami didn't have anything personal against Homura...except me."

"_I don't think I understand, Madoka." _Partly true. Kyuubei had no problem discerning jealousy, as it was one of the more potent negative emotions, but he couldn't quite understand how Mami had made any sort of connection to Homura through Madoka. It was such a wild guess, and a correct one at that.

"That makes two of us, then."

Earth revolved, and the sky became a slur of grays and shadows. It would still be a few hours until dawn, and Madoka knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep this night. Finding solace in his warm fur, she was thankful for the Incubator's presence. Body heat was something a plushie couldn't replicate.

"_Madoka..." _After twenty or so minutes, Kyuubei spoke. _"If you truly feel that the situation was your fault, then you have the power to fix it."_

"What do you mean?" The pink-haired was fiddling with one of Kyuubei's ear appendages at the time, and was childishly occupied with this.

"_My offer still stands. You could make a wish and become a Puella Magi. With the latent energy you possess, no wish would be too difficult to grant."_

"You mean I could...bring back Mami?" It was raining outside now. Heavy drops splashed against the window, creating exquisite rills down the glass' surface and the characteristic soothing patter.

"_If that is what you desire, then yes. You could bring Mami Tomoe back to life."_

Was that what Madoka Kaname wanted? Was she willing to give up her life for someone else? If Kyouko had been aware of everything that happened this night, she would've ripped her hair out in frustration. Hitomi had made a selfish wish, but for a selfless purpose. Madoka on the other hand had the chance to make a wish like Sayaka's, entirely for the betterment of another person.

"_I don't want to push you into making a rash decision, Madoka. I was merely stating a fact."_

"I know you were, Kyuubei. I know you were."

**-I-**

Dawn came, the sun hidden behind lead-colored clouds that showered Mitakihara and washed the city clean. Even life-seizing people who ate healthily and jogged around the neighborhood every day decided to sit this rainy morning out. In one of the many rivers that ran through the city, strange things began to happen. The water's surface started to simmer, not particularly noticeable in the midst of the rain.

Suddenly, a light appeared deep below the surface. It sparked and flashed with a warm, yellow tone, and the water started to boil. Clouds of steam rose from the river, swirling around in the wind before once again becoming liquid. The intensity of the light increased, making the flowing mass of water glow blindingly white. The entire process made plenty of fizzling and crackling, but no one was around to hear the noise.

Then, the commotion stopped. The electric spectacle came to an end, the light faded and the river went calm. This serenity only really lasted a few minutes, until something broke the surface. It was a person, struggling immensely to stay above water, coughing and spluttering and cursing. Half swimming, half flailing, the person managed to drift to the river bank and crawl ashore.

The person was a teenage girl, dressed in the local school's uniform. Said uniform was soaking wet, clinging to the girl's skin in a very uncomfortable manner. Impeccably clean nails dug into soft soil as she dragged herself forward, shivering and miserable. In a moment of painful exertion, scarlet lightning burst forth from her body, crackling through the air before hitting a streetlight, whose bulb and casing instantly exploded.

Completely unaware of this, the girl rolled over on her back, incapable of crawling any further. Her hair fanned out under her, a damp golden color and utterly drenched. The rain fell on her unnoticed, as she could hardly get any wetter. With long, ragged breaths, she opened her eyes to take in the monochrome sky, the omnipresent carpet of gray. Her irises were most peculiar, as they didn't share the same color.

One eye carried the bright amber tint reflected in her hair, attentively scanning its surroundings.

The other, squinting and twitching erratically, was a brilliant shade of pink.


	8. Malfunction

**AN: The more you mention a positive result, the more inclined people become to perform the action correlating to the aforementioned result, in order to be associated with it. Ne?**

**A bit of serious word here. As I have plenty of exams coming up, chapters 9 and 10 might take a little longer than usual to write, especially considering that Chapter 10 will be the Walpurgisnacht battle. I will be trying to put up chapters at the same rate I'm doing right now (one every 5-7 days), but I just want everyone to be aware of what is going on. But hey, you guys are patient, you'll be fine. In addition, I think the final chapter count will be 11. Made some super-author-y decisions regarding that, so I'm fairly sure Chapter 11 will be the last.**

**Also writing five characters into one situation is exactly as annoying as I figured it would be.**

**EDIT: FF user captor2000 has informed me about the sand timer mechanic of Homura's shield, as mentioned on the Puella Magi Wiki. Considering that it's never mentioned in the anime, I will not be using the mechanic or the actual concept at all. As stated before, most things about the Puella Magi in general are/will become non-canon. **

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><p>Homura skipped school on Tuesday. As the timelines passed, she had gotten less and less inclined to keep up her cover as a transfer student, and she only went nowadays to hang around Madoka and Sayaka. Her authoritative demeanor was the one of a person who knew what she was doing, and Kazuko rarely questioned her occasional absence.<p>

So she spent the entirety of the cloudy and pale day preparing for the coming of the Walpurgisnacht, the incredibly powerful witch that had started it all. As Homura loaded up on explosives, guns and other assorted things that might have a chance against the wicked being, she couldn't help but wonder about what life would've looked like if everything had gone right.

Mami and Madoka would've beaten the Walpurgisnacht, and everything had gone back to normal. Homura had stayed her timid, ditzy self, revolving around the pink-haired girl like a satellite around its planet. It was a repulsive thought, the time traveler decided. Her obsession with Madoka was painfully clear even back then, but she now had the mindset to pick apart her emotions and tell herself what and what not to feel. Whether it had been for better or not, the appearance of the Walpurgisnacht had changed Homura's life. And in doing so, it had sent a ripple through time and space, converging and intertwining despair, hope and people alike. It was all pure coincidence, of course. Witches have no ulterior motives.

It wasn't that strange then, that Homura felt a bent sort of sympathy for the mighty witch. They were both locked in an eternal battle that would only end when one destroyed the other. These were things a girl philosophized around on a Tuesday noon, until she realized that it would be more efficient to actually devise some sort of plan of attack.

Every time in the past (or the present, whichever you're the most comfortable with), every Puella Magi fighting the Walpurgisnacht had gone for the direct approach, spamming magical projectiles at the witch. The issue is that there is virtually no other approach. A common question when hunting is: Should I go for the witch itself, or its familiars? In some cases, witches are entirely dependent on their little helpers. Homura thought it naive to assume that the same would apply to a witch as strong as the Walpurgisnacht.

In the afternoon, when the time traveler dragged herself back to her apartment to get an hour of well-deserved sleep, she thought of something worrisome. What if the reason for her failures, and the reason for Madoka's occasional success, was that "regular" weapons didn't affect the Walpurgisnacht? Powerful or not, a thousand grenades, rockets and some odd five digit number of bullets should do _something. _If that was the case, she would be completely dependent on Sayaka and Kyouko. She would have to take the supporting role, fending off the familiars and somehow helping out her two allies with her powers.

Homura Akemi lay on the now clean floor of her apartment, looking up at the mesmerizing pendulum, running through long strings of scenarios in her head. Odds were alright, she concluded. Mami and Madoka hadn't been able to effectively destroy Walpurgisnacht without causalities, and even though Homura graciously thought of Kyouko as Mami's equaled rival, Madoka had so much more power than Sayaka could ever wish for. Meaning, the things speaking for her team was the addition of herself and a more experienced girl than Madoka.

It could've been worse.

"Ey, Homura!"

Suddenly wondering how long she'd been lying there, Homura got up from the floor and went over to the door. She smiled when she remembered Madoka's cautious way of knocking, now compared to the assault of blows the door was taking. Why did she find such a small thing amusing?

"Keep at it any longer and you'll make a hole in it." The time traveler sighed as she let the door swing open. Outside stood a grinning wolf-like girl and her blue-haired friend. Sayaka looked very uncomfortable, that was, until she glanced over at Homura. She then immediately covered her face in her hands, suppressing sudden snorts of laughter.

"Nice haircut, Hom. Positively stunning." Kyouko commented on the raven locks of her friend, now cut to shoulder-blade length. It somehow made Homura's deathly glare more intimidating, maybe because of how the hair was perfectly horizontally cut.

"Don't start with me. And don't call me that."

"Looks like you took a machete to it." This was Sayaka's first comment, perhaps poorly chosen. Homura's facial expression softened into a toxic smirk that even Kyouko didn't recognize.

"As a matter of fact, I did. Want me to show you how I did it?"

"Whoa whoa, break it up. We're all friends here, you two." Kyouko stepped between the two girls, gesturing for Homura to let them in. The time traveler snorted indignantly before turning on her heel and walking into the apartment. The redhead gave her student an accusing eye, who just shrugged and mouthed the word "sorry".

"Is Madoka with you?" Homura sat down with her back to the wall of floating panels, all of them flickering through shots of Mitakihara, firearm schematics or previous iterations of Walpurgisnacht. Kyouko and Sayaka sat down opposite to her, almost frustratingly close to each other.

"She has to come home directly after school nowadays, and she didn't want to slow us down. 'You shouldn't keep Homura-chan waiting', would be her exact words." Sayaka said, with a less than enthusiastic tone. Homura guessed that the blunette didn't like her or the fact that she was friends with Madoka too much. The feelings were mutual.

"Sounds about right. Fine, we'll get started."

Dragged into the center of the colorful pads was a low black table, cluttered with scraps of paper and maps and notepad sheets full of scribbled notes. Kyouko raised an amused eyebrow as Homura reached forward to pull out a sheet from the bottom of the pile. The time traveler held up a satellite image of Mitakihara, a section of it marked with blue ink.

"In two days time, there will be a gathering of familiars right here. I don't know if you two fight them or not, but you should've noticed a decrease in the amount of familiars all across the city."

"We usually don't go for familiars." Kyouko stated, suddenly dead serious. Sayaka noticed the change in her friend's mood, and felt a worrying chill creep up her spine. "But the witches seem to be getting stronger."

"Naturally. Without newly formed witches to contend with, the old ones grow in power. But that's not important now. The gathering will summon a Walpurgisnacht, one stronger than anything we've ever met before. All three of us need to work together to have even the slightest chance of beating it."

Sayaka glanced over nervously at Kyouko, who had completely lost her humorous manners. The redhead was currently going through the pile of papers on the table, skimming through them in a quick pace.

"It's been a while since I've heard about one of these. Any ideas?"

"I have plenty of explosives, but I'm worried that they won't do any actual damage. Unfortunately, you two are both short range fighters." Homura coughed politely and attempted her trademark hair flick, not quite as striking with the shorter material. Sayaka joined in around the table as well, eager to participate in the important conversation.

"'Barrier of unparallelled strength. Will inevitably take out big part of the city.'" She read off a smudged bit of yellowy paper. "How do you know these things, Homura?"

At this, Kyouko also looked up inquisitively. The black-haired girl sighed and decided that she didn't care enough.

"Does it matter? In any case, I think we'd be better off if I took care of the Walpurgisnacht's familiars. Again, I realize the last thing you want to do is get close with the most powerful witch in existence, but we don't have any other choice."

"We'll be fine, eh Sayaka?" The redhead playfully jabbed her student in the ribs with her elbow, suddenly joking again. The blunette flashed a confident grin and nodded. Sayaka might be the newbie of the group, but she was hellbent on becoming a good Puella Magi. She would fight, no doubt.

"Lovely." Homura stated dryly. "We'll work out the actual tactics tomorrow. I was thinking we could meet where the witch will appear, just so that we could scou-"

The improvised briefing was suddenly interrupted by an even series of knocks on the door, almost in sync with the pendulum's metallic ticks. Kyouko involuntarily twitched, reminded of Homura's blonde visitor.

"I'll get it. We wouldn't Kyouko getting in the way again, right?" With the same strange toxic smile directed at Sayaka, Homura got up. The blunette looked at her teacher, who was currently mumbling a slur of foul words under her breath.

"Kyouko, tell me. What happened to your shoulder yesterday?"

Not feeling quite qualified to break the news about Mami to Sayaka because of her role as the outsider, the redhead scratched her head awkwardly. There was also a small part of her that didn't like speaking openly about her quote-on-quote loss. But the azure stare she was given was relentless, and the words formed by themselves.

"I was shot. Your friend, Mami, came here yesterday..."

Homura opened the door, having already recognized Madoka's discreet knocks. She was greeted by a breathless school girl, hair and jacket damp with water. Homura liked the rain and was happy to see it, but turned her attention to something she liked even more.

"Sorry I'm late, Homura-chan. My parents-"

"Sayaka explained, it's perfectly fine. You okay? You're looking a little pale, Madoka."

Aside from reddened cheeks, Madoka's face was unusually wan, and below the twinkling eyes were thin lines telling of lack of sleep. The time traveler also noticed how the girl was squirming on the spot, hands presumably restless behind her back.

"It's nothing. But can...can I have a word with you? In private?" She added when she saw Kyouko and Sayaka involved in heated conversation, both of her friends looking uncharacteristically grim.

"Now is not the best time-"

"Please, Homura-chan?" Unaware of the effect she was having on the raven-haired girl, Madoka looked pleadingly at Homura. The difference in height made it so that Madoka had to glance up ever so slightly, creating a puppy-eyed look. The hardened magical girl suddenly felt a little queasy.

_Something is obviously wrong. It's surely about Mami. Probably. Definitely. It's stupid to think anything else. Stupid stupid stupid stupid. For God's sake, Homura, pull your pathetic self together._

"Sure. I don't mind the rain."

Homura followed Madoka outside, relaxed by the cool sprinkle falling from ash-white clouds. Their feet clacked against the cobbled street, and there was an aura of uncertainty about the two girls. The comforting atmosphere created in the midst of yesterday's events was gone, absorbed by nervousness and worry.

"Y-your hair is looking better." Madoka stuttered anxiously, not quite ready to bring up the real reason for the one-on-one talk yet. Homura dug around in her mind for some patience, saved for an occasion such as this.

"I certainly hope you're just being polite, Madoka, because I doubt anything I could've done would've made it worse."

"You look...different. Not bad, I promise. Just...different." Looking for a positively connoted adjective, Madoka realized that she didn't have one. Even she could've lied about such a small thing, but it simply looked really unusual. People with long hair look strange short-haired, people with glasses look strange without. That's how it works.

"Good enough. What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Madoka took a deep breath, one that tickled her toes and cleared her throat. She tried to look directly at Homura, but meeting the violet gaze was as difficult as ever.

"It's about Mami-san."

_What did I say? What else would it be about?_

"I know what you said. I know that I shouldn't blame myself for what happened, but I do. Despite anything you can say to me, Homura-chan, I'm afraid I'll always blame myself."

"Madoka-"

"Please, let me finish." The pink-haired girl shook her head, instinctively trying to get rid of some of the moisture. Her pigtails were droopy and damp, not doing too well in the wet weather. "I'm the reason Mami tried to kill you, and thus why she ended up dead. Even if I personally didn't do anything, it's still _because of_ me. So...I found a way of helping her. Of saving her."

The rain subsided. Streams of water ran below their feet, splitting and converging at the cobblestone's crossroads. Homura looked up at the sky, disappointed. Her mind was desperately trying to forget the words she had just heard, dismissed every attempt to understand what Madoka meant. The time traveler felt very cold.

"Madoka, what did you do?" Accusing. Not friendly, not supportive, not kind, but reprimanding. Harsh. So terribly accusing. The timid girl in front of her hunched up, her hands cradling each other nervously. With a shrug, Madoka smiled anxiously.

"I just...made a wish."

_This can't be happening. _

Homura understood. In that moment, she hated herself and Madoka and Kyouko and every single person on the whole rotten planet, but she understood.

_You pushed her into a corner, should've been more careful. You were too careless, you idiot. Too naive._

Deep inside the broken being that was Homura Akemi, her original personality screamed. It was an unearthly, paralyzing shriek. A ditzy girl with braids and glasses was banging her fists against solid nothing and bawling, only wanting to die and give up.

Another personality completely ignored the suppressed and weak girl. She looked at Madoka as a mistake, a mere miscalculation. As full of potential as this timeline had been, there were always more. An infinite amount, actually. And now, she had more information. She could befriend only Kyouko next time, perhaps. It seemed to have worked well, more or less.

The two personalities, one devoid of emotion and the other out of her mind with grief, clashed. They sliced and tore in each other to create indifference, the cold serenity spreading through Homura like mercury.

"I understand." The raven-haired girl's hand sought her Soul Gem, found it, and squeezed every bit of power out of it. Madoka took a few steps back, horrified by the look Homura was giving her. It was indescribable. It was soulless.

"Homura-chan, what are you doing!'?" The black, white and gray outfit materialized on the time traveler's body, along with the ornate shield. As it came into existence, it immediately began to whir, its gears spinning backwards and its front glowing. Madoka thought about getting Kyouko or Sayaka, but didn't want to move. She had known that Homura would disapprove of her decision, but she had no idea what was going on now.

"I'm saving you, Madoka."

_Don't cry, don't cry, you are _not _going to cry._

Madoka had the feeling she had made a great mistake once again, and that there was nothing she could do to fix it this time. The silver ring with its pink gemstone glittered dutifully on her thin finger.

_It won't be much longer now._

Homura would feel the world twisting and bending around her as she waited for time to move backwards. Colors were blurred, shapes became out of focus. The only thing painfully clear was Madoka, shivering and afraid in front of her. The kindest person she had ever met. The person she loved.

Then, a large shape behind Madoka caught her attention. It was a person, and Homura could clearly make out the color yellow in a few places. And she knew.

_So that's what she wished for. How reprehensible._

Mami Tomoe limped up the street, eyes flaring with anger. Madoka spun around, having heard the clacks of her uneven gait. Without a word, the blonde pulled out a shining hunting rifle from seemingly nowhere. It was as ornate and exquisite as her usual flintlock rifles, but much more intimidating. Its owner stood tall and held the rifle in both hands before pulling the trigger.

Compared to the flintlock rifles, the sound the new weapon made was a thunderclap. The muzzle coughed pink smoke as a modern, pointy bullet exited the barrel. Homura didn't as much as blink. Her calm was understandable, she would be long gone before the resurrected Mami could do anything. Faintly hearing the shot, she instinctively held up her only means of protection.

But Homura miscalculated. Again. The amount of archaic temporal tension necessary to make a time-space jump varies from use to use, even with magic. As it happened, it took some seconds longer this time. Regardless of what caused the delay, the effect was disastrous.

The golden bullet buried itself deep in the middle stone of the shield. The device was designed to deflect incoming projectiles magically, but since the mechanism was busy trying to rewind time, no energy could be diverted for protective measures. The bullet pierced the gem, shattering it, and then continued into the metal plate. Homura felt something stall inside of her, and knew that something had gone terribly wrong.

Mami's projectile erupted into a shower of pink, electrical sparks. The time traveler was hurled through the air like a ragdoll, enveloped in coils of violet, indigo and bright red. The bullet came to a halt, the thick metal able to stop it. Homura landed heavily on the wet stone, and an intense wave of pain surged through her. A spring snapped. A gear was lodged between a rod and another gear. The shield's mechanism ground into its own parts, the sheer power causing it to destroy itself. This destruction was channeled directly into Homura's soul, wrenching and distorting it in a vain attempt to fulfill its master's wishes.

Homura Akemi screamed. Loudly. Mami's knees gave way under her, and she pathetically slumped down onto the ground. But Madoka was there to catch her, mentally shutting out the cries of her raven-haired friend. The blonde girl struggled to get back up, and wrapped her arms tightly around Madoka. They embraced each other, mumbling incoherent strings of words into each other's shoulders. It was quite a miracle that Mami was even alive, after all.

"...am sorry...so sorry..."

"...not your fault...I did such horrible things..."

Mami broke the hug and held her pink-haired savior at arm's length. She beamed at the pale girl, noting the puffy eyes and the nervous trembling. The blonde knew Madoka's sacrifice, and felt nothing but pride and love for younger girl at the moment. Her sane mind was teasing her with memories of her drunken episodes, but Mami didn't care about them at the moment.

Madoka honestly found Mami a little terrifying. Her clothes were wrinkled and damp, her hair a tangled mess of golden curls. Her eyes had somehow become differently colored, one had retained its original color while the other was a deep pink. The different eye, her right, twitched as if irritated. Mami didn't seemed to be aware of this. Despite these quirks, as soon as she took in the sight of the upperclassman, the silver ring on her finger suddenly felt lighter.

The door to Homura's apartment flung open. Out ran Kyouko and Sayaka, alerted by Homura's endless screech. The first thing they saw was the lovely reunion moment of Mami and Madoka, and both of the girls frowned in disapproval. Kyouko on her pained friend's behalf, Sayaka because of what the redhead had told her a minute ago.

Madoka was roughly shoved aside as Mami took a step towards Kyouko. However, the pink-haired girl took a firm grip of the blonde's arm. The action said it all: _Don't do anything rash._

"I had hoped Homura woulda' killed you!" The wolf-like teen shouted, completely disregarding Sayaka's presence. The blunette didn't pay too much attention however, as she was currently the only one focused on the fact that Homura was in great pain. She ran over to the screaming heap on the ground, heroically wanting to help someone she didn't even like.

"She did, Sakura-san. But I was given a second chance, say." Crimson eyes looked directly at Madoka, who felt like hiding behind the taller girl. Kyouko studied her with growing anger as she realized what had happened. Mami, noticing this, cleared her throat authoritatively. "You should go check on your friend. Akemi-san is your friend, right?"

Kyouko Sakura was torn. The boiling rage welling up inside of her craved release, preferably through beating up Mami. The redhead looked past her strange appearance, didn't care about tangled hair or hetero-chromatic eyes, and only wanted justice.

But Mami's words hit home. The newly acquired friendship for the somewhat obsessive Puella Magi was strong, a salty cliff in a sea of raging emotion. With a frustrated snarl, Kyouko ran to Sayaka's side. The blunette was trying to get Homura's shield off her, which with its sparking innards and grinding noise was the obvious source of the pain.

"Hold her!" Sayaka commanded. Her teacher complied, as there wasn't much else to do. Homura was trashing back and forth, unaware of her friends' efforts, still screaming like a madman. Kyouko held down her left shoulder while Sayaka fumbled with the clasps of the shield.

"Shouldn't we help them?" Madoka had finally acknowledged Homura's dire situation, but Mami just shook her head.

"She's getting all the help she needs, and more than she deserves. We shouldn't interfere."

"B-But we can't just stand here and watch!"

"Madoka." Mami took a hold of her savior's shoulder, slightly tighter than necessary. Her peculiar eyes gleamed with experience and maturity. Madoka couldn't help but to listen to her. "There is nothing we can do. Let's just...get out of here."

Sayaka spat out a pretty ugly curse as the screeching piece of magical equipment came loose. She chucked it far away from Homura, and the metal dish flew through the air like a flaming frisbee. It landed with a series of clinks on the cobblestone, where the noise it was making finally ceased.

Homura's Puella Magi outfit dematerialized a in cloud of violet, and her scream echoed out in a hoarse croak as her mind was taken over by soothing darkness. Kyouko sighed with relief, and then looked over her shoulder to see Mami leading Madoka away.

"Sayaka, go after them."

"Who?" The blunette was still examining Homura for injuries, but wasn't finding any. Whatever pain the shield had caused, it hadn't been physical.

"Madoka and Mami. Tell them about the Walpurgisnacht. We're gonna need their help." The words burned in Kyouko's throat, as if it was physically painful to acknowledge that they needed assistance. She didn't cry, hadn't cried in forever, but realized that this would've been a fitting moment to do so. Sayaka nodded, understanding the logic behind her friend's order. With one last look at Homura, she started running down the street.

Kyouko scooped up the raven-haired girl's body in her arms, groaning with exertion as the human body is rather unwieldy. As she made her way back to the apartment, she could feel the light touches of an oncoming downpour. Rain would continue going on and off for another day, the sun only glinting through the blanket of gray occasionally.

"I told you that you should've just killed her." Kyouko mumbled, fully aware that Homura couldn't hear her. "I told you."


	9. T Minus Today

**AN: This chapter marks the beginning of me playing around with magic a lot. I've said it before, but please be aware that both Puella Magi equipment, the regen system, and some other things as well are/will become non-canon (or at least not covered by the existing canon). Even so, I do have my own idea of how things work, so everything will hopefully make some amount of sense. Also, everyone knows that destroying things makes them stronger. E-ver-y-one.**

**Also, sorry about the 6,000 word chapter. I guessed that you guys would rather have that as opposed to two 3,000 ones. I don't want to drag this out if I don't have to. Speaking of chapter layout, Chapter 10 will be the Walpurgisnacht battle, and I will do everything in my creative power to make it as interesting, well-written and released-on-time as possible. Think I can manage that?**

* * *

><p>The next day carried with it the most dismal school day of all time. All of the girls attending felt that the educational space was too cramped, too claustrophobic for them to be able to discuss they things they wanted to talk about. There were awkward conversations between what were supposed to be friend, there were averting nods in the hallways. Sayaka was hardly talking to Madoka at all. Hitomi had a go at the role as intermediary, with some success. Homura just avoided everyone skillfully. The rain outside stayed, making the situation none the better. But as soon as school ended, something happened. Sayaka and Hitomi rushed out into the downpour, setting course for the blunette's house. Madoka stayed to catch up with Mami, who now looked fairly decent compared to the previous day. Homura walked through the city gloomily, umbrella in hand and a big block of notes tucked in under her arm. She was heading to Kyouko's. So on this Wednesday afternoon, everyone had someone.<p>

"How're you feeling, Hom?" The question was asked sincerely, as the routine of joking about and love-hate teasing had already been run through. It was not a patronizing question either, and Homura leaned back in the caramel-colored couch with a tired sigh.

"Would you stop calling me...never mind, I'm...okay, I suppose. Could be worse."

"I fail to see how. Ya know, unless you were dead or something." Kyouko sat on the floor, restlessly fiddling with some newer burger wrappers that had somehow avoided the redhead's impulsive cleaning session.

"_If you say that things could be worse, and Kyouko disagrees with you, then who is more optimistic?" _The alien lay curled up on the table, tail wagging about in hypnotic patterns.

"_Kyuubei, I wanted you to come so you could tell me what's happened to my shield and my powers, not to spout pretentious nonsense."_

"_Give me one reason why I should. I don't know if you know this, Homura, but I'm not the helper of the Puella Magi. I assist you girls when it's necessary, that is all."_

"_'Necessary' being sending Mami after me?" _Kyouko watched the exchange of thoughts between the two, strangely amused. She found that she admired Homura, or at least her ability to completely disregard her own emotions.

"_I did no such thing. I simply assisted Mami in her endeavor to fight you. The reasons were simple: Firstly, I suspected the outcome would affect Madoka greatly, enough for her to make the contract with me. I was correct. Secondly, you are __an anomaly. You're an unpredictable variable, and you can't blame me for not feeling the need to assist you."_

Homura closed her eyes when the vile creature mentioned Madoka. She had locked away the part of her that was despairing over Madoka's wish, realizing that she had to make the best of the situation. She would still protect the pink-haired girl until her dying breath, still yearn for her love and kindness. Circumstances had changed, and Homura had to adapt.

"So why did you come here then?" Kyouko chimed in, her voice characteristically mocking. "I'd not pin you as one who likes to blatantly refuse people, just because you can."

Kyuubei looked lazily at the redhead, not managing to convey this mood very well. You couldn't really categorize his alert eyes and creepily cute smile as "expressionless", but considering the expression they carried never represented actual emotion...

"_I'm intrigued by the situation. I've never had a Puella Magi radically change the powers of another. The addition of time manipulation just makes it more interesting."_

"_So you'll tell us what happened?"_

"_Yes. There are no foreseeable adverse effects to doing so. Can I please take a look at the shield?"_

Kyouko gave Homura a quick look, who just nodded in consent. After carrying the unconscious girl into her apartment, Kyouko had decided to leave, as Homura wasn't in any known danger. When doing so, she'd found the hunk of metal on the street outside. Thinking it very strange, since Puella Magi weapon usually disappear if the magical girl in question reverts to a normal state, Kyouko had taken it home with her. The next morning, she had called a distressed Homura to tell her that she had the device. She now brought it out and put on the table next to Kyuubei.

The shield looked, for lack of a better word, broken. The middle stone was no longer there, in its absence a round hole that gave everyone a nice view of the brass machinery, glossy with grease. The remains of Mami's bullet was still there, a solid lump of humming metal. Homura had checked, and the infinite compartment was intact. However, everything contained in it had collapsed upon itself in a series of mini-implosions, leaving behind uncountable quantities of steel and glass.

The Incubator put a light paw on the object, and it immediately started sparking with blue and white discharges. Both Homura and Kyouko flinched as the golden bullet popped out of its indentation with a lone _tink._

"_I can't believe this." _A surprised intonation would've made Kyuubei's statement have a bit more impact, but his voice was as adorably monotone as always. _"It seems the bullet broke the specific part of the mechanism which controls flow of time. If it had hit anywhere else, the damage wouldn't have been half as severe._

"Your usual luck, eh?" Kyouko edged herself closer to the table, taking an interested peek at the shield's glistening insides. The redhead thought it looked too complicated, and was silently happy about having a simple, straight-forward weapon.

"No kidding." Homura pushed and crammed the information down in a dark corner of her mind, where it couldn't get to the other Homura. She was having trouble keeping it together as it was. _"So what does that mean for me?"_

"_First of all, you won't be able to stop time again. The parts locking the gears in place, not to mention pieces of the actual gears, aren't here. For the same reason, you won't be able to travel back in time anymore."_

_...you won't be able to travel back in time anymore..._

_...won't be able to travel back in time..._

_Huh. This is the final timeline, then. I'm out of rewinds. _It was to be expected, considering the shield's state, and Homura wasn't too surprised. The obvious notion still seeped into her mind, accompanied by that whiny voice that she was sure wasn't her own anymore.

_What if...w-what if we fail? Then it's all over-_

_Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. _

"Hang on...you can rewind time!'?"

"Kyouko-"

"That's incredible!" The words had already left the girl's lips before she understood what she was saying. Kyouko's smile lowered into a sheepish horizontal line, and she gave herself a joking knock on the head. "...sorry. Wasn't quite thinking there."

"It's fine. It was a stupid power anyways. Horrendously stupid. _What else?" _

"_Most of the gears feel intact enough...yes, the shield is still operational. However, its function has changed completely. Without anything to hold them back, the gears will spin without restraint. You will be able to speed up time, Homura Akemi."_

"What? Why would I want that? That's not useful in the slightest."

"_On the contrary. The emitting component is broken as well, so the changes will only affect you and things you are in direct contact with. You will speed up, and things around you will stay the same."_

Homura listened with great interest now. She needed to adapt, to change. She needed this information. Kyouko yawned loudly and produced a series of satisfying cracks as she stretched her tired limbs. The time traveler gave her a freezing glare that soon melted into subtle understanding.

"You mind doing me a favor, Kyou?" Homura said, feeling a sour taste settle in her mouth. The redhead's ears perked up, as much from the possibility to get to do something as from utter surprise at the usage of her nickname. It looked like Homura had taken a big bite out of a lemon.

_Tried it for real. Hated it for real. Let's never speak of it again._

"Anything for you, Hom." With lax pronunciation, Kyouko grinned widely. _This_ appealed to her; how Homura could stay joking and unpredictable even in serious situations. It reminded her a lot of herself. Homura pointed to two colorful folders on the table.

"I spent last night devising a strategy against the Walpurgisnacht, involving all five of us. Give one file to Sayaka and one to either Mami or Madoka, and make sure to convince the two to join the battle. Our revived pal is a bad influence on Madoka."

"And we're not? I told Sayaka to explain the Walpurgisnacht situation to them, so I don't think they're gonna need that much convincing." With that, Kyouko literally jumped onto her feet and swiped the files off the table.

"I suppose I shouldn't be complaining, but what's with the cheery mood? In less then a day, we will all be facing death. Sayaka is friendly towards you at best, and my frustration could power a smaller city."

"And Kyuubei asks who the bigger optimist is. Tch." The redhead made sure she wouldn't drop any papers, then ran her other hand through her hair. The flow of light red locks shimmered dully, and Homura felt a sting of irrational envy. "Thing is: I'm furious. Mami is back, we hate her. This super-witch is going to be a pain in the ass to kill, and considering there are _five _Puella Magi here now, who knows who'll get the Grief Seed out of it? But both Sayaka and you are alive and well, and that's enough for me to be able to at least act lighthearted. The little things, Homura, the little things."

Homura and Kyuubei watched as Kyouko went over to the door, the long mane of hair swinging behind her. Despite the gray sky and the impending rain, it was a warm day. The redhead was wearing a decently clean T-shirt and a pair of shorts, and looked like any other attractive delinquent that had ever walked the street of Mitakihara.

"Why would you care whether I'm fine or not?" The question was meant to be asked lightly, but Homura's voice failed her and the question came out pitiful.

"In'nit obvious? We are basically the same person, you and I. Equally miserable, equally bad at relationships, equally fucked up. Lots of people have told me that all I care about is myself. Well...if not for Sayaka, they'd be absolutely right."

And then Kyouko left, her crude laughter echoing through the corridor. Homura sat staring at the closed door for a few seconds, realizing that she had found the answer to why she wasn't freaking out. Sure she was stronger, sure she had learned to repress negative emotions, but there was something else. She was not alone this time.

"_Homura, are you listening?"_

"_Hm? Oh, yeah, sure." _Kyuubei gave her a look that might've been skeptical if the alien would've been able to change facial expressions.

"_Very well. The last thing to mention is the infinite compartment built into the shield. The component stabilizing the separate dimension is nowhere to be found, meaning that everything that enters the dimension will inevitably implode."_

"_I already knew that."_

"_Patience, Homura. I'm sure you're aware that you can mentally transport anything inside the compartment. That's how you easily access what you need, right? Well, if you can transport anything outside the dimensional field, it should accelerate to lethal speed due to density differences."_

"_I wish you spoke normally, Kyuubei."_

"_I do. You can understand me, can't you?"_

"_Barely. So...I can 'fire' pieces of what I used to store in my shield at lethal speed. Like some sort of railgun?"_

"_The process has nothing to do with electromagnetism, but the result will be similar, yes." _Homura felt like laughing, oddly enough. It seemed that the more you tried to break anything magical, the stronger it became. The sound of Mami's hunting rifle going off still hunted her immortal soul.

"_Any idea why it didn't disappear when I fainted?"_

"_No clue, actually. Even I don't really understand the mechanics behind Puella Magi equipment. If I had to guess, I'd say a microscopical part of your soul was transferred into the shield somehow. That might've been what caused you all the pain. If so, I should be able to resolve that little issue. Touch the shield."_

The raven-haired girl stood up, and Kyuubei put his other front paw on the shield as well. Homura carefully reached out and touched the metal object. It was cold to the touch, freezing in fact, and the girl experienced the same strange tingle as when she used a Grief Seed on her Soul Gem. A series of clicks and whirs rattled the machinery, and Kyuubei took his paws off the device. It immediately disappeared in a dark blue flash.

"_Great. I would thank you, Kyuubei, but it would feel weird considering I despise your existence and everything you stand for." _

"_I understand, Homura. Or rather, I try my best to."_

"_Do you ever wish that there was an easier way to gather energy than through corruption of humans?" _The time traveler asked, going over to the door. She looked around in the apartment, and decided that she did actually care about how Kyouko had gotten her hands on it.

"_I can't say I do. The current system is optimal for our purposes." _The Incubator tilted his head to the side, studying the anomaly. What he had just done for her had been completely unnecessary, but he had let his curiosity get the better of him. The magic which he worked with daily was so intriguing, how it adapted and reformed to survive. Just like humans.

"_Then you're obviously not trying hard enough." _

**-I-**

"You did this...for me?" Sayaka held the egg-shaped gem as gingerly as if it had been an actual egg. The small ornament at the top was in the shape of a Greek cross, and the light green glow it emitted was beautiful, reminding the girl of a forest clearing a sunny day in June. The memory was welcome, considering the weather outside. Sayaka hated the rain.

Hitomi smiled warmly, legs crossed under her. They were in Sayaka's room, and school had just about ended. Both of them were soaking wet from the smaller waterfalls outside, and there was nothing quite like shared misfortune to bring two people together. Hitomi had brought an umbrella, but the wind had quickly gotten rid of that problem.

"Yes. I wanted you to understand that you're not alone in this. I'm not blind, Sayaka, I've seen how strangely you've been acting."

The blunette handed back the Soul Gem, and it quickly changed shape into an emerald-adorned ring. Hitomi put on said ring with slow movements, still unsure how her friend would react. Sayaka was lying on her stomach in her bed, legs swinging back and forth in the air.

"I really didn't want you to do this. I'm so sorry for making you feel that it was necessary." With her chin resting on her hands, Sayaka sighed. "Hitomi, the only reason I didn't tell you was that I didn't want you to get involved."

"I know. But I don't regret making my wish. I...I think I have some things to apologize for as well." What Hitomi referred to was no mystery, and the words were left hanging in the air. Both of the girls felt quite uncomfortable, and none of them really knew what to say.

"So...are you...?" With some of her usual forwardness intact, Sayaka uttered the vague question. Naturally, Hitomi blushed, but she did even this with some amount of grace.

"Yeah. At least, I think I am. It's not that strange, really. It's just that what I thought I felt for Kamijou-kun, those same feelings...I now feel for you."

And Sayaka flinched, for no real reason. That lone fact that someone was confessing to be in love with her, regardless of gender, was so far out. She, like most other girls her age, had fantasized about the scenario once or twice, had joked about it among her schoolmates. Sayaka had, perhaps a little self-deprecatingly, always looked at herself as the one who would confess, not be confessed to.

"You do...you do realize that I should be furious with you?"

"Of course. I'm actually not even sure why you're here talking to me now. You haven't even yelled at me." Hitomi managed to pick up on something odd in her own voice. It sounded a little like disappointment. Sayaka rolled over and let her head and arms hang off the side of the bed freely. Her blue hair fell down in small cascades, and her upside-down frown made the green-haired girl giggle.

"But I don't know why I should. At first, all I could think about was Kamijou-kun. 'She stole him from me,' was what I wanted to think. I wanted to get mad. But then I realized, ever since you confessed to him and I got more involved in the Puella Magi business...I've never given him another thought. I'm starting to think..." Sayaka's face went red from the blood rushing down, and she quickly sat up and spun around. Hitomi waited patiently.

"I don't know what I think. I was so sure that I loved, or at least _liked _the guy."

"Then...let's take this one step at a time: What do we mean by 'love'?"

"I 'unno. Isn't it one of those things you just say?"

"Exactly!" Hitomi exclaimed, suddenly enthusiastic about it. It was probably the overwhelming relief's fault. "So why do we say it? What is it we want?"

"Um..." Sayaka tapped herself on the top of the head, as if to get something started. The question was highly philosophical, a subject the straight-forward girl wasn't very fond of. "...when you love someone, you want to be with them. No matter if they want it, no matter if it's bad for you, you want to be with that special person."

"And you feel that way about Kamijou-kun?"

Sayaka thought about it. She thought about the accident. She thought about when she had started visiting the musical genius, how uplifted he had been by her presence, and how happy she'd felt in return. As time passed, Kyousuke had seemed to get more and more disinterested with her visits, all while the prospect of his situation worsened. Was that all it was? Had she confused the satisfaction she'd gotten from her good deed with affection?

But...no, she'd had feelings for Kyousuke before the accident as well. Hadn't she?

_He was a bit helpless back then too. A little forgetful, a little careless. A textbook genius, self-contained and shy-ish. We were decent friends once, I'd suppose. Now? He was released from the hospital a while ago, and he still hasn't so much as contacted me. _

"No. Not...right now, at least. I'm so confused..." With a drawn-out moan, Sayaka fell backwards onto the bed with closed eyes, shutting out the light around her. She heard shuffling, and felt part of the bed get weighed down by another person. Hitomi sat beside her, looking straight into the opposite wall and beyond.

"It's okay to be. I was, for weeks. But I found my way out of it, and I know you will too. But Sayaka, a serious question: Will you still consider me as your friend, and be open to the possibility that you...some day...might want to be with me the same way I want to be with you?"

The rain wouldn't let up. Relentlessly, it hammered away at the windows in a symphony of soothing pattering. Hitomi and Sayaka, good friends, schoolmates and Puella Magi, were silent for several seconds. For both of them, the silence was painful. And when the blunette eventually spoke, it was with a cheerful tone that melted that pain away.

"Of course. Hitomi, you're one of my best friends. Those don't grow on trees, ya know. As for the the second part of your question...I'll get back to you on that one, yeah?"

Feeling her stomach fill with bubbly butterflies of relief, Hitomi exhaled happily. On impulse, just like last time, she turned and leaned across the bed. Sayaka felt this and opened her eyes, just in time to get silky green hair in them as Hitomi kissed her on the forehead. The action was not as surprising nor as meaningful as last time, and the blunette just chuckled.

"You'll have to stop doing that, though." Sitting up, Sayaka rubbed her forehead the way an embarrassed child who has just been kissed by a relative would've. And Hitomi giggled, a row of crystalline tones that filled the room in harmony with the rain. She suddenly stopped, bringing her hand to her temple.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing. I've just had this splitting headache ever since I made the contract." There was also the repeated "flashbacks" and the constant nagging feeling of having forgotten something important, but the headache was the worst part.

"Huh. What was your wish, anyways?"

"Won't say."Hitomi put a emphasizing finger on her lips, and rolled her eyes at Sayaka's pouty reaction. "Why don't you tell me yours, then?"

"I'm not telling if you don't."

"Gee, Sayaka. You're such a baby."

Verbal retaliation was at hand when Sayaka's mother knocked on the door to her room, announcing that she had a visitor. The two girls looked at each other, Sayaka shrugged, and Hitomi stated that it was time she headed home anyways. The two walked out the room, when the blunette suddenly remembered the upcoming fight with the Walpurgisnacht. She explained the situation to her friend, but made sure not to imply any invitation, because she honestly didn't want Hitomi to get hurt. Her friend listened attentively, and didn't even seem fazed by the prospect of such a powerful foe, strangely enough.

_Then again, _Sayaka figured, _Hitomi hasn't even faced a regular witch yet. She couldn't possibly know how horrible and frightening they are._

Kyouko stood in the hall, feeling very uncomfortable about waiting around, as if she was any female friend of Sayaka's. There was an aura of pleasantry about it, she guessed, the nostalgic touch of a normal life. But that in itself was what caused the uneasiness. It reminded the redhead of many things she'd rather forget, things that belonged to normal humans.

All of this was quickly forgotten when she heard Sayaka's voice getting closer, and she preemptively pulled out one of the folders from under her arm, the one with an S scribbled on it. Kyouko had given it a peek, and had gladly noted that she and Sayaka would be working together against the Walpurgisnacht during the planned second phase of the battle.

The blunette stepped into the hall, gesticulating wildly at something. She spotted her fellow Puella Magi teacher and smiled, waving unnecessarily with one hand. Kyouko was halfway through a soft chuckle when a second girl came into the room. And lo and behold, it was none other than Hitomi Shizuki.

At first, Kyouko felt a wave of malice rush through her. The green-haired girl would see her, her neat little face would fill with horror when she recognized the spear-wielding maniac. But this never happened. Hitomi walked up to Kyouko, a beaming smile lightening up her green eyes.

"Hitomi, this is Kyouko Sakura." Sayaka quickly explained, a little embarrassed by the fact that this was a person that Hitomi would've never met unless she had made her wish. She also felt for Kyouko, since she knew that the rude girl wasn't good with strangers.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sakura-san."

"I've told you about Hitomi, Kyouko."

Kyouko's eyes wandered between the two girls. Why wasn't Hitomi freaking out, and for that matter, what was she doing hanging around Sayaka in the first place? This might've confounded the girl to the point of not being able to speak properly, but one quick comment from the blunette quickly dealt with the issue.

"It's fine. She's a Puella Magi now, she made the contract yesterday."

_Well, shit._

"Um...nice to meet ya." Kyouko admitted defeat reluctantly, silently gritting her teeth. Hitomi's expression was pure, there was not even a hint of derision in that smile. Why would there be? She knew that she had won, and was gracious about it. "Sayaka, Homura sent me. It's about tomorrow."

"Hitomi was just leaving." Sayaka said, with Hitomi nodding helpfully. She made her way past the perplexed redhead, and politely said goodbye to both girls. One of them replied with a leisurely "Take care!", to the other's vexation.

After the door closed, Sayaka quickly told Kyouko what they had talked about. Not in detail, mind, she only said that they had straightened out their problems, and that they were friends again. The redhead had to give her an in-character reaction of teasingly caring, and added a seemingly joking statement about how she personally would've beaten up anyone who had done the same thing to her.

Then thirty minutes passed wherein Kyouko went through Sayaka's instructions and tried to suppress all the rage and frustration building up inside of her. Not even the presence of the lighthearted blunette could calm her. Her little scare tactic had majorly backfired, and she had no idea what to do about it.

**-I- **

"It's okay, Dad, we'll be fine." Madoka assured her father, who watched his daughter and her blonde friend walk out the room, the latter with a quick bow. Madoka had explained her lie to Mami, who did everything to play the part of a troubled and awkward teenager. Considering that she normally was a very controlled person, it was a little difficult.

But Tomohisa looked at Mami and didn't think anything of it; a girl from a wealthy family whose parents never had time for their young one, a girl who had been alone a big part of her life. Despite her mature and somewhat unsettling appearance, she was probably mentally younger than Madoka.

Luckily for everyone involved, Junko wasn't home at the time.

"My room. Are you sure you don't want anything? You always make tea for me and Sayaka-chan..." Mami sat down on the edge of the bed, and looked sympathetically at the fiddly girl.

"I'm sure. Calm down, Madoka, you're making me nervous."

"Sorry, I'm just...sorry." Madoka took a deep breath and sat down in the swivel chair that usually belonged behind the desk. Those chairs were all pretty comfortable, and the pink-haired girl felt some of the tension evaporate from her shoulders.

"First of all, thanks for following me home yesterday. I honestly expected you to run away from me, considering how horrible I looked and that I had just shot Akemi-san." Mami said this with the sincerest of tones, and made it overly clear that she wasn't trying to be joking about it.

"I didn't know what to do. All I could think about was how happy I was that you were back." Madoka was somewhat ashamed at these words, considering that she hadn't given Homura a thought at the time.

"But after that first initial emotion, surely you must've had your doubts. I mean, look at me!" The blonde pointed at her right eye, the one that occasionally twitched. "I'm terrifying like this."

"Homura...she scared me. It was like she just...shut down, or something. I panicked, and chose to stay with the least frightening person. She will be fine, right?"

"She managed to get her shield up, and no matter how strong my new weapons are, I can't pierce that shield. She'll be fine." Mami took a look around the room, noting the very Madoka-esque features. The stuffed animals almost made her chuckle. Almost.

"Sayaka said the same thing...I just feel so heartless."

"Don't, Madoka. Like I said, there was nothing we could've done."

"You didn't have to shoot her." Mami was taken aback with the sudden accusation in Madoka's voice. She even had to avert her eyes when a set of pink ones gave her a gaze matching their owner's tone.

"Perhaps not...if I told you that it wasn't for a sense of revenge, I would be lying. But after I...came back, I could only think about one thing: to get to you." With this comment followed a characteristic smile, measured and friendly. Madoka didn't return the smile, but instead held out her hand. With a quick look at the door, she transformed the ring on her finger into a Soul Gem.

The stone was in great health, as was to be expected. It was different from most however, by its color. The pink gel-like substance inside glittered and sent reflexes across the room, even without the help of outside light. And there it was, swirling and falling and rising through the bright red substance: a fleck of intensely shining yellow.

"This might be why." was the pink-haired girl's only comment. And only then did Mami realize something that should've been so painfully obvious that she for a second was certain some of her mental damage had returned.

"I don't have my ring. I...don't have a Soul Gem anymore."

"Kyuubei said something about this." Madoka held the object higher, inspecting it with fascination. "He explained that even though you would be completely healthy again, some things just can't be reconstructed."

"Then it's no mystery what he was referring to." Mami said calmly, but her hands were frantically looking for the small piece of silver still. She couldn't believe that she hadn't noticed that it was gone before now. She _had _felt stressed the whole day, but for a different reason entirely. It had been a nagging feeling that involved Madoka; that the blonde had forgot to tell her something really important. However, as soon as she had met up with Madoka after school, the feeling had gone away.

"This must feel strange. I mean, knowing that a part of your soul is...you know, with me."

_Is that why I felt anxious today? Is that why had, absolutely _had_ to get to Madoka when I climbed out of that river? I stayed around Homura's apartment all day, freezing and angry, yet all I could think about was that I had to meet Madoka._

"But it's fitting too. You saved me, Madoka. If not for you, I would still be dead. A part of my soul is the least I can give you." Mami then started to laugh at how absurd the sentence was, causing Madoka to giggle with her.

"Didn't you bring out a rifle without being transformed yesterday?"

"Yes, but almost all Puella Magi can use their weapons to a degree while 'normal'. Though I'm not sure how I will transform now, with no Soul Gem."

The owner of the room hmm'd to herself, and fell into such a endearingly thoughtful expression that Mami had a strong urge to hug her. She promptly suppressed it.

"So you will be joining us tomorrow?"

"Of course. If this witch is all it's made out to be, then you are going to need my help. And after all, Mitakihara is my territory."

Then, Tomohisa knocked on the door. Madoka quickly put away the Soul Gem before allowing him to come in. The father stepped into the room with a plastic folder in his hand, waving it in the air like one would a school exam with satisfying results.

"Sorry for bothering you two, but a girl at the door just gave me these. She claimed to be a friend of yours, Madoka, and asked me to give you this."

"What did she look like?" The pink-haired girl asked, suppressing a giggle as Mami pulled her knees up to her chin and tried to look as reserved as possible. The father gave the visitor a warm smile, which she politely returned. She really liked Tomohisa, but didn't quite enjoy being reminded of her parents as much as she was.

"Tall, with long, red hair. I asked her if she wanted to personally give this to you, but she just turned around and left. Very brash, I thought."

Madoka and Mami just looked at each other, both of them wanting to roll their eyes. Tomohisa handed the folder over to her daughter, who mumbled a "thanks" and tried to remember how she had manage to lie last time.

"Kyouko-chan is more a friend of Mami-san than me, actually." Madoka settled for simply confirming the statement, and her father once again apologized for the intrusion and announced that dinner would be ready in fifteen minutes or so. After he had left, Mami walked over to examine Kyouko's document.

The folder was marked M, and didn't contain much else than a share of Homura's information on the Walpurgisnacht and a hand-written note from the time traveler, explaining that the information was meant for both Madoka and Mami. Since their roles would be so similar, Homura hadn't bothered making two separate instructions. She had assumed that the two girls would be together, and wanted Madoka to get the file if that hadn't been the case.

"Back line, artillery role, huh? Akemi-san is actually serious about this." Mami mused, the heterochromatic eyes gleaming with curiosity. Madoka didn't say anything, since she was too busy reading herself. After a minute or so of silence, the blonde closed the folder, making her friend look up at her questioningly.

"Why did you...?"

"Madoka. Tomorrow...will be dangerous. Me, Akemi-san, Sakura-san, we are all experienced Puella Magi. But you..."

Madoka looked straight into the blonde's new set of eyes. She found herself focusing on the familiar golden one, and felt comforted by the amount of worry it carried. The pink-haired girl decided that for once say exactly what she was thinking, even if it made her cheeks heat up.

"As long as you are with me, I'll be fine, right?"

At that moment, Mami felt like explaining why she had done the things she'd done under the influence. She wanted to apologize a hundred times over, but more importantly, she wanted to talk about the strange feelings she had experienced during those times. The feelings that now remained when all else went away, the urge that stung her soul whenever she wasn't around Madoka. But all that could wait until after tomorrow, she told herself. Now was not the time.

"Right. You'll be fine."


	10. Last Final Act

**AN: O-Only...one...c-chapter left now...so burnt out... *headdesk***

**Drama queen is I. I decided not to cut the whole battle into two pieces, simply because I don't want to keep people waiting in the middle of an action scene. Anime does that enough as it is. But if you don't like massive 8000 word chapters, then sorry. Take a break in the middle, have a snack, come back, it's all good. And poetic. **

**The powers and overall interpretation of the Walpurgisnacht is as influenced as the rest of the Puella Magi mechanics in this story. You should really be used to it by now. Also, even if I am updating on time, the "exams galore!" warning still applies. I will try to post the final chapter on time, of course.**

* * *

><p>The sky cleared, and the blinding spring sun shot its rays deep into the light gray concrete that made up the backbone of Mitakihara. It was a Thursday, almost noon, and people driving, working or taking care of their little ones had no idea what was about to happen. Blissfully unaware, they all continued about their daily life.<p>

At a junction overlooking a river stood Homura Akemi. She squinted and frowned at the deceitful sun, the glowing orb of light that would soon be replaced with darkness. She was already in her Puella Magi outfit, and the touch of the almost ethereal clothing gave her a sense of strength, the comforting weight of her shield even more so.

This was it. Everything she had done had led up to the upcoming moment. It was her last chance to save Madoka, and maybe in doing so, save herself. She had spent the morning practicing with her altered equipment, and felt fairly confident of her abilities. The raven-haired girl sighed the heaviest of sighs, the one that proceeds a struggle.

The first person to show was Kyouko. Chugging a sports drink in true fashion, she looked as carefree as always. Homura could understand her. There was something about fighting, or the prospect of it, that cleared the mind of irrelevant thoughts and filled it with some clarity. The redhead had already changed as well, and was carelessly dragging her spear behind her. She walked up to the railing where Homura was standing, leaned herself and her companion against it, and threw the now empty bottle over her shoulder into the water.

"You ready?"

"Yeah. But I've been ready more times against this thing than I care to remember."

Kyouko didn't feel like questioning this odd statement, and so she didn't. The redhead was nervous, not for her own sake, but for Sayaka's. Due to the nature of Homura's strategy, it was Sayaka's job to protect Kyouko. It was a great strategy, making good use of all the combatants' power and abilities. But that little detail still bothered our long-haired friend.

"Sayaka's here. Without Hitomi too, thank God."

"Don't thank him just yet. We might need his help later." replied Homura, in reality happy to know that Kyouko had something going for her. The raven-haired girl looked out across the river, noting every irregular ripple that crossed the surface. There was a strange vibe in the air, beneath the bearable heat and fresh wafts of standard issue oxygen and nitrogen.

"Hi, Kyouko. Homura."

"Hey."

"Don't mind her." As usual, Kyouko grinned and threw her arm around Sayaka's shoulders as soon as she got close. If nothing else, she had the blunette for the upcoming hours. "She's just a little grumpy because Madoka hasn't showed up yet."

"Oh, shut it." Homura retorted with non-existent energy.

"See?"

"Will Mami be here as well?" Sayaka said, not sure what answer she wanted. After Tuesday's events and revelations, she was extremely wary of the blonde, and she was still a little angry with Madoka for simply leaving after Homura had been shot. After Mami's sanity had started going downhill, Sayaka had done her best to help out together with Madoka. But even she had eventually realized that the broken Puella Magi was a lost cause, and had been pushed away trying to convince Madoka of this.

"I sure hope so." It was Homura that answered, still not looking at either of them. The reply was unexpected, but the time traveler kept going: "Without her, this is going to be much harder."

"So you won't shoot her in the back then?" It was Sayaka's comment, but Kyouko could almost taste it rolling off her own tongue. The redhead once again felt that familiar tug in the stomach that somehow signified love.

"I won't. Not until the battle is over, anyways."

"I would be tempted to beat you to the punch, Hom, but unfortunately, I will be more or less dead after we're done."

Kyouko was referring to her battle instructions, arguably the most strenuous of them all. Her role was a passive one during phase one, but an active one during phase two. Both of them required a significant amount of energy.

"You'll be fine. Besides, the Grief Seed the Walpurgisnacht drops will be more than enough to get all of us back to full health again. Besides..." Homura sighed, shaking her head as to get rid of something unwanted. "...Sayaka will do most of the work anyways."

"Yeah, Sakura-sensei. Leave it all to your trusty student!" The blunette grinned and wiggled out of her teacher's hold. An azure fountain of light enveloped her as she transformed into her Puella Magi self, with the rather childish cape and the piece of belly jewelry that was her Soul Gem.

"Just don't let anything get too close to me, alright?"

The three girls then proceeded to wait patiently, still having a few hours to spare until the gathering according to Homura. Madoka showed up next, surprisingly perky considering the circumstances. She arrived in her frilled outfit, puffy and almost hard to look at in the sunlight. As a newly formed habit, her hand was constantly touching the oval gem in the cloth necklace, as if to assure that it was still there.

Following her was Mami, wearing a stern expression. Her hair lacked the usual large ringlets, and was instead simply combed out. It made her look very different, especially together with the other changes in appearance. She, just like Madoka, was already in her Puella Magi attire. The two had realized that Mami had to use Madoka's Soul Gem to transform, making the blonde effectively dependent on her younger friend.

The pink-haired girl scurried up to the group, not sure whether to apologized to Sayaka or Homura first. Since the latter was still looking out across the river absently, she turned to the blunette. Unlike yesterday, she felt free and confident to a degree, not longer trapped in the stifling school environment.

"Um, Sayaka-chan?"

"What?" The friend replied, not harshly. She kept an eye on Mami, who had decided to stay at a more peaceful distance.

"I know you're mad at me. You have all the right in the world to be, and-" Sayaka shook her head at this, interrupting Madoka.

"Gee, Madoka...I'm not mad at you."

"You're not?"

"Why would I be?"

Kyouko tapped Homura on the shoulder, whispering a few choice words. The two went over to talk to Mami, leaving the best friends by the railing.

"I made the contract without telling you, I ran away with Mami-san when Homura-chan needed help...when you caught up to us, you were so angry."

"Of course I was! Kyouko told me what Mami-san did to Homura, and then I walk out to see her trying to kill her again and running off with you! I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at her. And...I'll admit, I took out some of that anger on you. It's me who should be apologizing."

Even if this wasn't exactly better, Madoka felt relieved. The two friends performed a quick everything-is-alright hug, and Sayaka then proceeded to tell Madoka how cute her outfit looked. This compliment made the recipient both blush and smile, as she was one who had designed the clothes.

"But Madoka, listen. I'll talk to Mami, and we'll see what happens. But for now, I'm just going to tolerate her."

Off to the side, Mami demonstratively held up her hands. It was a general gesture for peaceful intentions, but the fact that the blonde could instantly spawn magical rifles made it a little less impactful. The thought of the gesture was accepted however, and Kyouko's spear disappeared. Homura simply didn't point her new weapon in Mami's direction.

"Have you read your instructions?"

"I have." replied the gunslinger, as coolly formal as always. "Though I have to say, the extent to which you chose to omit mine and Madoka's abilities is worrying."

"You and Madoka are the only ones with long range weapons." Homura decided not to mention that her new powers made her a long range fighter as well. "Besides, you should be thrilled. You don't have to do anything, and _I _am the one who has to protect you."

"I doubt it'll be necessary." Her gaze switched between Kyouko and Homura, staring them both down in order to emphasize her regained strength.

"I don't. But we will see about that, won't we?"

"Can I trust that neither you or your little helper will stab me in the back then, Akemi-san?" Mami smiled inwardly at Kyouko's reaction when she heard "little helper." Homura quickly took a step forward, holding out her hand.

"You have my word. As for Kyouko..." Homura looked over her shoulder. The redhead was walking away indignantly, tired of being the third wheel. "...she doesn't have as much of a reason to hate you as I do. You merely shot her, after all."

"True enough." Mami took Homura's hand, and violet eyes met yellow and pink in a silent truce. A cold wind suddenly swept through the street. A lone, black car drove past the group of five teenage girls. The sun still shone, and there wasn't a cloud in the bright blue sky, but everybody knew that it was almost time. "By the way, thanks for the Grief Seed."

"What Grief Seed?"

Mami let go of Homura's hand with a slight chuckle.

"Thought so."

The time traveler was about to make an annoyed remark at how pointless that answer had been, when Madoka ran up to her. Mami halted for half a second, but then realized that her friend wasn't in any actual danger. And it was not like she could forbid Madoka to talk to Homura. So she just kept walking.

"Homura-chan?"

"Madoka." Homura immediately decided not to act abrasively. She was so incredibly tired of acting tough and unmoved, and noted with some amount of satisfaction that she had managed to be nicer to Madoka this timeline around. She attempted to fall back into the mindset from three days ago, when she had comforted the pink-haired girl.

"I want to apologize for what happened the day before yesterday. When Mami-san tried to shoot you."

"If you are going to say sorry for her, please don't bother." The initial discouragement from failing to keep Madoka from making the contract was still present, but promptly ignored. "You had no hand in it, Madoka."

"No, I mean...I should've helped you, not fled. I feel terrible about it."

Guilt her, or forgive her? The choice was easy. To what end would making Madoka feel worse benefit Homura?

_Accessible._

"Don't sweat it. I don't consider you any less of a friend for not helping me in a situation like that. So...you're forgiven, if that's what you want to he-"

Madoka threw her arms around the time traveler, overwhelmed with relief. For a moment free of her timidness, she was just happy to have such amazing friends, and almost started to cry as all the worry she had harbored disappeared with every exhalation.

The raven-haired awkwardly returned the hug with one hand, trying to ignore Kyouko grinning stupidly across the street with her thumb up. Mami was conveniently looking away, talking about something or another with Sayaka, who seemed a little upset at this something.

Homura took the moment for what it was, and tried not to look as embarrassed as Madoka did when they broke the friendly embrace.

**-I-**

"Guys. Don't look, but I think we're being watched." Kyouko sat on the railing, pointing needlessly in front of her. The street was empty now, the skyscrapers glittering of pure white concrete. Along the building's sides, on every ledge and windowsill, sat a familiar.

The amount of them was staggering, and all of the Puella Magi could only stare. Most of the beings were in the shape of animals, some with deformed or grotesque features that made it clear what they actually were. They looked at the girls with soulless eyes, dead silent and still like statues.

"There are so many of them." Madoka murmured, hand on necklace.

"They'll be gone in a minute. Ignore them." Homura said, hypocritically inspecting the array of lions and monkeys and tilting her head at an a life-sized giraffe perched on a metal lip several meters off the ground.

Mist started to form, flowing from inside the city and out across the river. Suddenly, all of the familiars started moving at the same time. They changed shape as they went, the giraffe's long neck turning into a slithering snake that was caught and carried by a black eagle. The actions resulted in a morphing wave of purest evil, furthering the mist and sending shivers down the girls' spines.

"Ah, you sure about that, Hom?" Kyouko swung the top part of her spear around restlessly, her legs kicking precariously in thin air. Homura looked over her shoulder, out across the river, and shook her head. The procession was heading their way, and not slowly either.

"Trust me, Kyouko. Just...leave them be."

"It's like a carnival. Look!" Sayaka pointed to a green-tinted elephant, on its back a set of flags and pennants fluttering happily in the wind. The mass of animals were close to them now, all of the critters taking a generous arc around the Puella Magi. To the girls' astonishment, all of the familiar climbed or jumped or hopped into the rushing water, the bigger ones creating waves that splashed against the banks.

"Kyouko, are you ready?" Homura asked, and the redhead promptly jumped off the railing. The spear in her head disappeared once again, and the raven-haired girl wondered why she had even bothered bringing it out.

"To do absolutely nothing? Sure."

"Good. Because I think the show's about to start."

Right on cue, white and black lines of light started forming on the water's surface. The river sloshed open, and a massive pillar of gray mist shot up, making it virtually impossible to see anything. Music started playing, symphonic and powerful, and it seemed to be coming from the ground under their feet. The deep notes were interrupted by a horrid grinding noise, and as some of the mist rose high in the sky and blackened into dark green and brown, the Walpurgisnacht appeared.

Their enemy was giant. The witch resembled an upside-down woman, a sickening purple apparition whose lower body were giant gears. The enormous pieces of metal were starting to turn, creating the ear-piercing screeching. More clouds joined the first few and soon shut out the sunlight, filtering it down to a gritty, green glow.

"Kyouko!" Homura shouted, louder than the wind and the music and the grinding noise. The redhead stepped back and kneeled down on the ground, clasping her hands as if in prayer. Scarlet light radiated from her as three grids of diamond-shaped metal started unfolding out of thin air. The other three girls watched as the latticework grew higher and higher, reaching up and out. It traveled high across the tainted river, higher than the rising witch and all the way to the other side of the strip of water. There it connected with the ground, and the sides of the defense shot into the water until they found something solid to settle into. The result was a giant, rectangular cage.

"All done. Ya know, Homura, this barrier is strong. Are you sure I need to be-"

The Walpurgisnacht gave a soul-wrenching and high-pitched laughter as it carelessly flew straight up into the red cage's ceiling. The entire construction didn't as much as move, but Kyouko looked as if she'd been hit by a train.

"Hah! Okay...okay, point made. You want me to do this for how long!'?"

Homura ignored the redhead, and turned to Sayaka. The screeching was not as deafening, and the witch's gears were spinning rapidly now, without much resistance. The raven-haired had to shout once again, and told everyone to get behind the cape-wearing defender. Mami and Madoka complied, and Sayaka took a few deep breaths. She looked up at the terrifying being that was their enemy, and silently promised to protect everyone.

"Good luck, Sayaka-chan."

The hero smiled at her best friend.

"Yeah, you too."

Suddenly, a giant explosion of a putrid wind erupted from the Walpurgisnacht. It cackled maniacally as its gears spun and the music picked up and the wave of air pushed all of the river's water up against the banks. Sayaka held out her hands in front of her, and a shining blue circle appeared. It swirled and pulsated with light and white semiquavers, its diameter twice the height of its summoner.

The gale shot out through Kyouko's cage. The water from the river crashed against the banks like a tsunami, sending large quantities of water into the streets. The wind tore with unnatural force through the buildings, cracking foundations and shattering windows. Cars parked by the side of the road were lifted off the ground and blown along the street as easily as if they'd been made of cardboard.

The concrete and asphalt around the group of five started to give way as well, cracks spread rapidly and large chunks came loose, just to be whipped away by the wind. Sayaka's barrier protected the area around her, including the other Puella Magi.

"As soon as the wind stops, start firing." Homura gave her shield a spin while instructing the artillery. "Focus on the upper...I mean lower body, and the gears. Her familiars will soon appear, and they'll probably go for Kyouko once they figure out that she is the one keeping their boss from going anywhere. Mine and Sayaka's job is to keep them off you and Kyouko."

The gale abated slowly, the Walpurgisnacht spinning around and inspecting her work. She wanted, _needed _to create more destruction around her. But something was in the way, hindering her. In flashes of black, her minions marched out of thin air. Each of the shadow figures had their own shape, resembling the countless Puella Magi that had died at the hands of every witch throughout history. They were clowns, and there to set the stage of what would ultimately become a masterful theater piece: The end of the world.

Sayaka's shield disappeared, and all of the girls with the exception of Kyouko jumped into the almost empty riverbed. The familiars were like splotches of ink, pitch black against the green-glowing sky. They ran and jumped through the air, cartwheeling and laughing.

Mami Tomoe begun her routine, performing an intricate dance of glittering silver and loud cracks as she fired flintlock after flintlock at the massive being above her head. The shower of golden bullets attracted a big part of the playful familiars, and they made a sharp turn in the air and dove at her.

Mami saw them, and started to change her movement pattern as to hit them as well when each and every one suddenly exploded into black sparks that burnt out in small puffs of smoke. She caught a glimpse of Homura, hand on shield, running at superhuman speed across the battlefield. The blonde couldn't even see her fire anything, she just pointed at a familiar and it was gone.

Homura saw the rain of bullets strike the left side of the Walpurgisnacht's dress. The witch laughed crazily and once again tried to break the cage she was trapped in, this time by ramming into its side. The raven-haired girl could imagine Kyouko grimacing, and smiled at this before firing a long glass shard into a shadow girl doing backflips. The railgun-that-wasn't-a-railgun was insanely powerful, it combined with Homura's newly acquired speed boosts made her almost unstoppable.

Madoka made her move next. Summoning her bow, the branch-like weapon with a rose at its top, she fired several pink arrows in quick succession. They whizzed through the air with ease, pelting the Walpurgisnacht. Some of them mingled with Mami's bullets, the hybrid projectiles creating a white explosion on impact. Bits and pieces of the witch's dress fell off, burnt and blackened. They got caught in the wind and whirled around together with the cackling witch. Homura's idea was that the gears, the spinning metal disks, were the source of their enemy's destructive powers, and it was them they should be aiming for.

Then happened what Homura had feared. A skyscraper, the one closest to the rendezvous point, came off its foundations completely, and was flung high into the air as if by an invisible hand. Kyouko actually saw it, as she stood kneeled down with sweat practically flowing down her face. She looked up and saw the giant construction, tons and again tons of solid matter. And she swore. Loudly.

Then the skyscraper was slammed down into the roof of the red latticework. It was instantly pulverized by the sheer force of the impact, any human miraculously alive inside mashed into a mix of white dust and metal. Diamond-shaped pieces of Kyouko's barrier rained down over the battlefield together with giant clouds of aforementioned dust.

Sayaka was busy slicing the familiars that managed to fly past Homura when she heard the redhead's scream. It was more a cry of frustration than anything else, and the blunette just had time to put up a barrier over her head before chunks of skyscraper came raining down. The cloud that swept across the ragged ground blinded her for a few seconds, and one of the dark figures manage to fly past her, scoring a deep cut in her side. Completely obvious to this due to the heat of battle, Sayaka spun around and held out her hand. There was an absurd shriek as the flying creature hit the solid blue wall that suddenly appeared in front of it.

The cries of war were deafening. Not a second went by without a crack, a scream, a screech or a bang. Homura was running around like mad, pinning as many of the Walpurgisnacht's minions as she could. There were increasing in numbers however, and the time traveler knew that a battle of endurance against the witch was a battle you would lose.

Mami and Madoka had realized that combining their projectiles made them significantly stronger, and were now standing quite close to each other. This was beneficial in another sense as well, as the shadow clowns were forced to fly in a denser formation if they wanted to get to the Puella Magi duo.

As the amount of enemies was increasing, Homura couldn't keep up. As a result, Mami and Madoka had to take an increasing amount of pauses to fire at the stray girls, and less of their projectiles found their way to the Walpurgisnacht.

"Madoka!" The blonde shouted, her left arm painted red after an unfortunately well-planned attack by ten or so figures. Only that was a sign that they were losing. Madoka looked over at her friend, her pink eyes blank with concentration.

"What is it?"

"Kyouko's barrier is gone." Mami pointed to the hole in the cage while simultaneously blasting three familiars with the rifle in her other hand. "Homura put it there to stop the Walpurgisnacht from running from us."

"So?" It was amazing that the two could even hear each other over all the commotion. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that they shared Soul Gem.

"We need to take out the Walpurgisnacht now! Otherwise, we're doomed. Just look at all the familiars!" As to prove her point, a dozen new girls appeared above them, eager to please their witch. Half of them were instantly obliterated by a few well-aimed shots from Homura.

"But how?"

Mami Tomoe looked around her, and saw the devastation and corruption that had been caused. This was her city, and she would never let something like this happen to its citizens. She was stronger than that. She _was _stronger than that, and she would prove it.

"We need to hit it with something stronger. Let's show this thing what we can really do, okay?"

The wicked being above them twirled around like a upside-down ballerina and sent forth a gale that completely blew out the remainder of the cage's ceiling. The wind cut into a swaying skyscraper, which collapsed upon itself with a metallic moan.

"O-Okay."

It was over. Completely over. The familiars were like flies, black blobs that flew across the sky. They were uncountable, at some point just a mass of darkness. Homura saw everything in slow motion due to her powers, and even she had trouble spotting every one of the figures. There was no way she could kill all of them.

As the raven-haired girl was quite busy being concerned about this matter, she didn't notice that Mami and Madoka backed off, taking out stray familiars that flew too close. Kyouko and Sayaka certainly didn't notice this, as they were busy slicing and dicing the clowns that wanted a word with the girl who had hindered their progress.

Regardless of the lack of attention, Mami and Madoka gathered all of the energy that pulsed through their veins. They focused all of it on a common goal: to destroy the Walpurgisnacht.

A shimmer went through the air as a silver hunting rifle sprung forth. It settled in the blonde's hands, literally vibrating with power. It carried the strength of both her and Madoka, as the shy girl was a part of her and would always be. Right next to her, Madoka drew her bow. A sparking arrow was created, held between the archeress' index and middle finger. The rose on the top of the blossomed fully, and the wind howled around the petite girl.

Both of the ranged fighters fired their weapons at exactly the same moment, without any kind of sign or countdown. The rifle snapped and fired a single bullet, followed by a trail of pink and yellow light. The bow launched the thin arrow soundlessly, the whizzing projectile a firecracker in comparison to Mami's rocket.

Then the two magical objects met. Naturally drawn to each other because of the unique relationship between their owner's souls, the pink and the gold intertwined and fused to form a massive spear of white, its luminescence showering the battlefield with light and driving away the familiars. The air hummed with electricity.

The Walpurgisnacht certainly didn't care about this little obstruction, but flew energetically towards the hole in Kyouko's cage instead. As it happened, the combined force of Mami and Madoka found its way to the grinding gears, hitting the metal construction at an upwards angle. The witch laughed maniacally as the world exploded around her and she was knocked back further into the cage.

The cloud of familiars scattered as a block of metal the size of a smaller car was flung through the air. It took out around twenty clowns before hitting the ground, smashing up a wave of wet soil. Homura, Sayaka and Kyouko took advantage of the moment of confusion and slayed a large number of shadows. As soon as the remaining two fighters had recovered from their effort, they looked up at the Walpurgisnacht. What they saw almost made them collapse on the spot out of pure disheartenment.

The gears were still spinning, even if the outermost one had a big piece missing from it which made the entire construction a little lopsided. Because of this, two of the gears were grinding into each other, creating a rainfall of black sparks and that terrible grinding noise. But despite this, the witch was still airborne. She had seemingly finally realized that the tiny ants down on the ground were a real pest, and that they should be destroyed before she could move on to that inviting city landscape.

So the Walpurgisnacht did something it didn't often do. Deprived of its mighty gale, it rotated slower and lifted its arms. It had no hands, its arms simply ended in frilly stumps of cloth. There stumps were now pointed in Mami and Madoka's direction. Between the extremities, a pulsating orb of energy grew. It flickered in every color known, yet seemed like the epitome of dark.

Homura wasn't aware of this either, but had all the right not to be. She had gotten overzealous, and the mass of shadows was more than she could handle. In a moment of poor aiming, two girls with long, flowing ribbons knocked her down. She fell into the brown sludge that was the riverbed, her chest burning with pain. She was going to get up, she told herself. But her limbs wouldn't listen, and she stayed down. The constant use of her powers had taken its toll on her. Homura could see the hundreds of clowns in the sky, overjoyed that they were going to get to kill the fast white and black girl.

In that moment, a flock of the familiars dove down, and the time traveler knew it was over. Not being a person who gave up easily, she raised her left arm and shot one...three...five...but it was useless. There were too many of them.

A thin, glittering knife flew through the air. It was fast, and almost invisible in the surrounding darkness. Attached to it was pendant, a silver Greek cross with an emerald of the same shape. The knife hit the shadow figure leading the pack, who disintegrated in a disappointed shriek.

Homura saw the creature die, and suddenly, there was a girl among the group of darkness. A real, human girl, knife in hand. She lashed out to the left and right, and familiar after familiar disappeared in swirling smoke. The girl was incredibly fast, decided Homura, because when she sped up time to once again fire, her savior still moved pretty quickly.

In a matter of seconds, the cloud of clowns had dispersed into hesitant individuals who made halfhearted dives at the two. The knife-wielding girl landed on the ground, detaching the pendant from the knife and instead tying it around her wrist. Homura crawled out of the mud ungracefully, and they both took a quick look at each other in the middle of a war.

The newcomer had fairly long and curly hair, about the length of Homura's current style. It was an unusual green color, with the exception of a lone lock of hair that framed the left side of her neat face, which was unnaturally white. Her eyes were of the same quality, a rich emerald with that hint of something lighter.

Her Puella Magi outfit was just as beautiful as the girl it was worn by. The upper part, torso and arms, was in the style of a dark green yukata in a flowing fabric that looked light as air. Pale spirals and other subtle geometrical patters decorated it, while the sash wrapped around her waist was exclusively white and tied into a ribbon in the back, letting two ends of cloth flow out of it. Below the waist, the outfit figuratively exploded into a wide skirt, the hem lined white and in alternating shades of the thematic green. It was the kind of outfit that would've made Madoka or Sayaka flush with shame over their own, in comparison vulgar clothing.

"I'm Hitomi Shizuki." The newest Puella Magi introduced herself. "I'm a friend of Madoka and Sayaka."

"Homura Akemi. I've seen you around." The time traveler brushed off clots of wet dirt, swiftly surveying the battlefield. What she saw was Kyouko and Sayaka, sprinting towards the place where Mami and Madoka were standing.

"In school, right? You're the transfer student?"

Homura would've answered, but then she saw why her fellow fighters were running so fast. She looked up and marveled at the entity of malicious energy that the Walpurgisnacht was about to unleash. And she knew that even with her speed, she couldn't get to Madoka in time.

A hollow hum went through the air as the witch made use of her powers. The dense orb broke out into a solid beam, sporting the rainbow's colors and heading straight for the little yellow and the even smaller pink dot. The witch wasn't fond of the attack, it was too restricted and not as much fun as the gale. But it would do the trick against the pesky ants.

You would imagine that words of panicked affection was uttered between the two girls. But in reality, Madoka and Mami could just watch in horror as the stream of unearthly energy lashed out at them. Then, Kyouko and Sayaka caught up to them. The redhead held up her hands and a new latticework folded out, a perfect square of red diamonds. The blunette did the same, but conjured a circle instead of a square. The two barriers met up to create a wedge-shaped shield, one that could divert the attack.

"Are you guys okay?" Sayaka looked over her shoulder at the tired artillery, her white cape blowing heroically in the wind. Madoka beamed at her with the usual optimism, and Mami gave her a thankful nod.

"We're fine, Sayaka-chan."

"Sayaka, no time fishing for gratitude!" The voice was Kyouko's, and her student turned back to their shield as the energy beam hit the red and blue barriers. The wave of malice ground against the magical hinders, but separated complyingly and roared into the ground on either side of the four girls. The energy ripped the earth apart, creating two deep cuts in the riverbed. The ground shook with the force of the attack, a subtle vibration that even Homura and Hitomi felt.

"Homura never said anything about _that_!" Kyouko actually laughed, because she was having fun. This was a challenge, and it required nothing but violence and strategy. No petal dances, no tip-toeing. _This _was life, and she was rocking it.

"Phase two, then?" Sayaka suggested.

"If you think you're up for it."

The beam dissipated, and the Walpurgisnacht lowered her arms. More familiars were pouring in by the second, endlessly, and they were now focusing mostly on Homura and Hitomi, as their master was dealing with the other four.

"I'm not the one who had to withstand a skyscraper."

"Fair enough. Mami, Madoka, go help Homura and...oh look, our sixth combatant."

"Hitomi?" The blunette tried to get a better look, but all she could make out was a green figure battling against the wave of shadows. "She must've gotten in here after your barrier broke. Damn, I didn't wanted her to be here!"

"Well, tough luck." Kyouko was almost about to retract her previous suggestion, but decided to just ignore the green-haired nuisance. Madoka started running in the other two's direction, sincerely worried about Homura. Mami followed suit. "We're going?"

"Whenever you're ready."

Upon hearing this, the redhead once again slammed her hands together. The remainder of untouched soil was now broken open as a series of spears shot out from the ground. They moved like snakes, their shafts flexible and their heads lowered. Under Sayaka and Kyouko, a final snake appeared, big enough that the two could stand on its flat head.

"Small reminder, Sayaka. I'm running out of energy, and fast. You're gonna have to do most of the dirty work."

The blunette had all the trouble in the world staying on the slithering metal object, and this hampered her confident nod somewhat. They were picking up altitude rather quickly, all of the smaller spears staying a bit ahead of them. The reason for this soon became obvious. Even if most of the familiars were fighting the rest of the group, some realized that the two girls on top the giant, pseudo-living spear were dangerous.

The smaller weapons shot forward, striking like cobras and impaling the dark figures. The Walpurgisnacht spun around and held out her arms, summoning more energy. The second blast cut through the air with a roar, but Kyouko calmly led their transport to the side and the beam missed them by a meter. It continued out of the battlefield and struck an apartment complex, continued through it and sliced open at least four other buildings before hitting the ground. Sayaka luckily couldn't afford noticing this.

Back down on the ground, Homura found that getting saved by Hitomi would not be a one-time occurrence. Her legs were still wobbly and her aim mediocre at best, and she was surprised at the amount of energy she'd used up without noticing.

The green-haired girl fought like Mami, with the help of infinite projectiles. These were throwing knifes, invisible streaks of steel that cut through the air in speeds close to Homura's weapons. Together, the two managed to hold off the assault of the minions until Mami and Madoka arrived. No longer time for introductions, the four girls effectively decimated the Walpurgisnacht's forces. But the sheer amount of enemies kept them busy, leaving Kyouko and Sayaka to fend for themselves.

At this point, the blue and the red Puella Magi was approaching the Walpurgisnacht. They were actually higher up than her, and they had a clear view of the spinning gears. The gritting sound they made combined with the witch's maniacal laughter was deafening, it tore through every cell in their body and poisoned their minds. Kyouko, who had to stay focused in order to protect herself and Sayaka, was beginning to feel light-headed. The looming presence of the witch was depressing, disheartening, and the redhead couldn't help but think that this whole battle was a lost cause...

The spear they were both standing on suddenly stopped. Since there wasn't anything they could hold on to, the two girls flew helplessly through the air. A few clowns went for them, but were instantly impaled by the smaller spears. Sayaka managed to orient herself mid-flight, and summoned a wide barrier to catch them. They both slammed into the humming blue surface, tumbling around before stopping.

"What the hell!'?" The blunette scrambled to her feet, sword drawn. She quickly looked around and noted that they had been launched right before their enemy. They were looking right into the confines of the Walpurgisnacht's dress, which hid a large pillar that connected the upper body to the mechanical parts.

"I might've lost control for a second there!" The wind exerted by the witch this close was violently strong, and Kyouko had to scream just for Sayaka to hear her, even if they were practically next to each other.

"Ya think!'?"

The Walpurgisnacht had become fed up with the ants. She couldn't turn to aim at them, close as they were, and there was no way she would flee from these infuriating critters. So she did something that is quite logical when your body is the size of a smaller villa. She rammed them.

The mass of whirling gusts flew forward, and the makeshift spine came closer. All light was blocked out within the Walpurgisnacht's center, and the only light available to the girls was their respective Soul Gems as they leapt off Sayaka's shield. The pillar smashed into the circle, effectively shattering it into blue-shimmering pieces.

Sayaka simply made a new barrier to stand on, and Kyouko landed on it shortly after she did. Something was different, and it took a few seconds for the disoriented teenagers to realize what.

It was quiet. The only sound that could be heard was a low whooshing noise, similar to the wind outside your bedroom window on a stormy night.

"Talk about eye of the storm, eh?" mused Sayaka, her face lit up from below by the barrier. High above them, she could almost make out the gears' eternal motions, even their sound completely muffled.

"No kidding." Kyouko ignored the searing headache that had settled itself above her right eyebrow, and took a few steps in the pillar's direction. The column looked to be made of metal, as brownish rust covered a big part of it. She summoned her regular spear and tentatively poked it. The previous thesis proved incorrect, as the spearhead sank into the pillar until it was completely gone, and then stopped.

"Do you think we can cut this thing off?" The blunette wondered upon seeing Kyouko's attempt. The redhead tried to twist and pull back her spear, but what looked like metal had now become just that and the magical weapon was stuck.

"Um...no?"

"What happened?"

"I don't know! This stuff went solid all of a sudden."

"Calm down. We'll just-"

Kyouko never found out what her student was going to suggest. Because in the dead silence, in the near complete darkness, something had managed to sneak up on them. This something now reached out across the blue floor with an inky hand and grabbed Sayaka's ankle, its cold fingers cutting into the soft skin.

Sayaka screamed, and the barrier she was standing on disappeared along with her concentration. The lone shadow giggled joyfully and flew off, dangling her squirming prey proudly.

"Sayaka!" Kyouko still held on to her spear, so when the clown attacked, she was left hanging precariously over an intensely dark abyss inside the strongest witch in existence, with her friend and more or less secret love being taken from her.

The familiar holding onto Sayaka flew out of the Walpurgisnacht, and the returning wave of noise and light hit the girl like a hammer. She was still holding her sword, but the figure was making sure that she couldn't orient herself enough to do any damage with it. Sayaka didn't know what was up or down, or how high off the ground she was. All she was aware of was the chilling sensation creeping up (or down) her leg and the excruciating pain it caused. The wound in her side had long since healed, but even that part of her body was cramping up.

_Kyouko...sorry about this._

Sayaka Miki disconnected herself from the pain, and in doing so, her own body. The overzealous familiar met a sudden end as the girl it was holding twisted around and made a quick swipe with her blade. The clown was cut in half and disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Sayaka found herself falling towards the ground. She wasn't too worried though. It wouldn't hurt, after all. Her mind was only filled with the image of Kyouko, helplessly trapped within the Walpurgisnacht.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" All of the anger and frustration that the troubled redhead had amounted during the last couple of days wanted out. Kyouko pulled herself up on the spear's shaft, now in pitch-blackness with the exception of the feeble glow of her Soul Gem. The silence was no longer a welcome feature, it was mocking and taunting and far too calm.

"_Do you think we can cut this thing off?"_

The question became an answer. Kyouko Sakura focused all of her energy at the tip of her spear, the tip that right now was firmly lodged into the spine of the Walpurgisnacht. This exertion made the headache grow into a vice that tightened around her skull, threatening to push her into unconsciousness. The threat was disregarded, and the metal pillar started to glow red-hot from the inside. Kyouko could've sworn she heard glass shattering.

Orange cracks spread along the spine, thin as threads in the surrounding darkness. They reached the torso first, and the Walpurgisnacht's white skin cracked open to a cacophony of laughter and music. The next target was the gears. Kyouko's powers couldn't do a thing thing to the massive blocks of metal, but the axis wasn't as sturdy. As if the machinery wasn't ruined enough already, the top gear came loose and sliced into the one below it.

The witch was starting to fall apart.

"Homura-chan, look!" Madoka shouted in the middle of drawing her bow. Three more arrows whizzed forth and found three targets. The time traveler, never far away, turned her head in Madoka's direction. She saw what was pointed out to her, a tiny blue dot falling towards the ground. She quickly checked to see if Hitomi and Mami were doing okay. They were.

"I'll get her." Homura was gone in a heartbeat, sprinting across the scarred battlefield. Madoka covered her as packs of familiars swooped down like birds, trying to shake the image of her best friend crushed against the ground.

It was then that they all noticed what was happening to their actual enemy. The Walpurgisnacht was dying, it seemed. The mechanical top she sported was a mess of broken metal and useless revolving parts. The rest of her body was aglow with orange fractures, her floating stature looking increasingly unstable. Homura noticed it, and silently thanked Kyouko, but then focused on getting to Sayaka in time.

"Shizuki-san, mind giving me a little space?" The name known from the quickest of introductions, Mami took the initiative. She would hit the Walpurgisnacht now, while it was weak. Hitomi gave her an understanding nod, and unclasped the pendant from her wrist.

"Not at all." Tying it to one of her throwing knifes, the green Puella Magi threw it together with ten other projectiles into the cloud of clowns. Suddenly, Hitomi was among them, and from her sleeve she pulled out a dagger, heavier and sturdier than her run-of-the-mill knifes. A white light extended from the weapon, taking the shape of a straight blade. Carrying the momentum from her instant movement, she performed a deadly dance in mid-air. The enhanced dagger cut through everything in her vicinity, and occasional throwing knifes made short work of even distanced enemies.

The blonde looked away, admittedly impressed. She summoned a hunting rifle, but didn't fire it. Her multicolored eyes coruscated with the silver reflexes as the weapon suddenly expanded, inexplicably becoming the size of a larger cannon. Pink and golden discharges flew across its surface, reverberating through the blonde. Madoka looked over her shoulder, and her eyes widened when she saw the oversized weapon. Mami's eyes were locked on her enemy, and her gallant being filled Madoka with a sense of humility.

"_Ultimo Tiro Finale!_"

The cannon fired a surge of energy, a boiling ball of pure electricity. The ground shook with the blast force as every sound and sight within a mile of the battlegrounds was made irrelevant. The projectile fizzled through the air like an emergency flare, casting its blinding light upon the earth.

It collided with the Walpurgisnacht, and the weakened witch instantly withered into nothing. The core of evil, the very being that had been summoned by all of Mitakihara's familiars, met the revived force of Mami Tomoe. It didn't have a chance, corrupted by Kyouko as it was.

As the sky erupted with a million colors and the earth trembled, no one could hear a falling Puella Magi scream her red-clad companion's name.


	11. Uncommon Outcome

It started raining again. The drops that fell were black like tar, and it was as if the sky was trying to rid itself of the awful substance that had infested its domain. It drenched the earth in its tears, sympathizing with the devastated area. The riverbed was a muddy mess of craters and cuts, the surrounding banks in ruins. The streets closest to the battlegrounds were ripped open, their stores and houses reduced to glass and dust.

Infrastructural wounds gaped opened, empty spaces where there had used to be skyscrapers or office buildings. The damage done by the Walpurgisnacht had been limited, but the gathering had still claimed the lives of many innocent people.

The aftermath was, as it often is, a depressing story. Mami lay unconscious in the soil, Madoka sitting loyally at the blonde's side. The pink-haired wasn't worried about the upperclassman, because she herself was alright. That meant that Mami would be alright as well. No longer in her Puella Magi outfit, she carefully held her multicolored Soul Gem. She took Mami's hand, the gem in between, and then sat like that, just being there.

Visible as a mere dot from the duo's position, Homura stood unsteadily. She was halfheartedly trying to keep her grip around Sayaka's wrist, who squirmed and screamed uncontrollably. The black rain turned her tears coal, and dark stripes ran down her cheeks.

"Sayaka, it's useless..." The time traveler mumbled, too tired to care, too dulled to think about the thrashing body that was lying in the mud. Kyouko's grunts and groans of pain were drowned out by the blunette's constant yelling. So, more for the sake of herself than anything, Homura let Sayaka go.

The weeping girl staggered over to her friend, and collapsed onto the wet ground. She was still dizzy from the fall, she couldn't see properly, and yet all she could think about was Kyouko. Sayaka took in the sight of the redhead in agony; the rusty metal object in her hand, the valiant and crimson eyes, the trickle of blood on her chin from biting her lip. Every last bit of Kyouko's power had gone to protect her body from Mami's attack, making her visible injuries laughably minuscule. The dying girl turned her head with effort, suppressing the overwhelming torment.

"Such a...stupid situation...eh? If I had brought a Grief Seed..."

"Don't say that..." Sayaka could barely speak, and she couldn't bear face the soft look she was given.

Homura walked up as well, suddenly feeling the need to say something. Just to let her friend know that she cared. Or rather, that she had finally manage to care.

"I'm sorry, Kyou. I thought the Walpurgisnacht would drop a Seed. I guess that even with the power of so many familiars, it's still not the same." Homura's voice was factual, only the use of Kyouko's nickname signified affection.

"But I killed it...at least." The redhead whispered, voice dripping with pride.

"You and Mami, ironically. She did the right thing though, who knows what a desperate Walpurgisnacht would've done? Want me to kill her anyways?"

Kyouko shook her head, though it might've just been a spasm. She grinned at the raven-haired girl, and then reached out to touch Sayaka. Their hands found each other, and Kyouko opened her mouth. A wave of needles shot through her body, and she had to take a few ragged breaths before speaking.

"Hey...quit your crying."

"S-Sorry..." Sayaka sniffled and wiped her tears with her other arm, creating the out of context hilarious look of a big, black streak across her face.

"You did...okay, Sayaka. Though in the end...I had to do...all the work."

Homura knew what was going to happen next, and she had to prevent it. The last thing she wanted was the passionate Puella Magi to become a witch. She lightly tapped the blunette on the shoulder.

"Sayaka, we have to put her out of her misery."

The sentence didn't seem to have much effect on the heartbroken girl. She kept looking intently at her teacher and friend, as if afraid that Kyouko would disappear if she looked away. The redhead averted her eyes from the azure gaze, and nodded almost unnoticeably at Homura.

The time traveler forcefully pulled up Sayaka in a standing position, and shoved her away. Still weak and taken by surprise, the blue Puella Magi almost fell over. Her eyes became ablaze with anger, and the air sung as she drew her sword. Homura ignored her, raising her hand and shield and pointing them at Kyouko. The redhead laughed roughly, her unusual fangs gleaming white.

"Bye, Hom."

"Bye, Kyou."

Homura saw the metal streak out of the corner of her eye. She spun around and held up the round plate, and the throwing knife was deflected into the ground. Confused, she saw Hitomi running at them, dressed like normal and waving her Soul Gem in the air.

"Wait! Sakura-san!" To Kyouko, the voice was making her feel worse than any pain she was currently enduring. Her hand closed around her Soul Gem, feeling its oily contents leek out into her palm. She could let go at any time, and it would be the easiest thing in the world. Homura worriedly looked over her shoulder at her pained friend, and suddenly felt a surge of anger at being interrupted.

"Hitomi, I don't know what the hell you think you're-"

"I can help her!" The green-haired girl didn't look as exhausted as the rest of the group, partly because she hadn't actually done much during the battle, and partly because of the recent transformation.

"You can?" Sayaka's voice was the one of a person left to die in a desert, now reaching for the oasis that surely was a mirage. Homura sighed in frustration and turned to face the blunette.

"Didn't you hear me!'? There is nothing we can do!" The time traveler didn't believe Hitomi, and she knew there wasn't much time left. She had learned how to let go, why couldn't these idiots do the same?

Idiot number two took the opportunity to run past the raven-haired girl when her attention was turned elsewhere. Sayaka took a step forward and raised her sword at Homura, the blade glittering dangerously.

"I don't believe that."

Hitomi kneeled down beside Kyouko, who had more and more trouble holding back the constant assault of sinister energy. Her entire body felt numb, the only bit of feeling left tickling her chest. So she barely even noticed that the girl she considered an enemy pried open her hand, exposing the soon-to-be Grief Seed. She didn't even notice that Hitomi took her own Soul Gem, shining a pleasant green color, and held it against Kyouko's. All she was aware of was the wave of light that washed over her and how strange it felt to die.

**-I-**

_I'm in a black room. The walls, the floor, the ceiling, everything is coated with this dark liquid. I'm facing one of the walls, and I carefully reach out to touch it. My fingers brush against the substance, it's slick like oil and smells foul. I try to wipe the stuff off, but I find that it has already begun to eat through my skin. There is no pain, and I note this quality with the same dullness I feel for everything in this place._

_There is no door to the room, nor should there be. I'm alone here, and I've always been. This used to be a nice place, very calm. I don't know what turned it into this. Was it me? It feels like it. I feel guilt, more corrosive than the black oil._

_My feet are bare, only bones at this point. I can still walk somehow, even without tissue or muscles. I walk around the room, trailing the walls with my hand. My fingers soon turn white and red, and I enjoy watching my skin melt off my bones. It's entertaining, and I feel like laughing, but my throat hurts and breathing properly is a task by itself._

_There is someone in here. There's not supposed to be anyone in here. I rest my head against the cool surface of the dark liquid, and I smile as it trickles into my eyes and down my nose. It's cold, and I'm hot. It's pleasant._

"Hi, Kyouko."

"Hitomi." Kyouko's voice was hoarse and rough, with a sandpaper-like quality. She kept her head against the wall still, her hands lovingly pressed against the black surface. "You shouldn't be here."

The green-haired girl was standing in the middle of the room, a light substance pooling at her feet. It mixed with the black as well as oil mixes with water, and it illuminated the otherwise pretty dark room with a soft glow.

"Neither should you. I'm here to save you, Kyouko."

"What if I don't want to be saved?" Kyouko stepped back from the wall, and turned to face the intruder. The redhead's face was repulsive; her exposed skull shining white, her right eye nothing more than a black hole and the left only expressing nonchalance. Hitomi saw all this and smiled as warmly as a mother to her child.

"You don't have much of a choice, I'm afraid."

"Why are you naked?" Kyouko pointed at Hitomi with a skeletal appendage. The green-haired looked down at her bare body, noting the small circle of white that protected her feet.

"Why are you?" was the answer Kyouko got. The redhead mimicked her visitor's action, giving a confounded "hmm" when she realized how valid the question was. Her curves were jagged, parts of her body gaping open thanks to the oil.

"We're not really naked, are we?"

"No, the concept of clothes is sorta useless to souls."

Hitomi started walking across the room, towards the corner where Kyouko was standing. The white liquid dripped from her, creating a safe path through the corrosive sludge. The redhead looked helpless for a second, lost and confused. Then her hideous features were further contorted by anger, and she shouted:

"You can't save me! I don't even know how you can be here!" Kyouko backed up, wanting to get away from the intruder. But the room was small, and she soon felt her back sink into more oil and she hissed as the cooling sensation degraded her flesh.

"I know so much more than you do. The Puella Magi have become lone wolfs and cutthroats, and no longer remember the things one magical girl could do for another." White liquid flew from Hitomi's arms and hands as she held them up at the redhead. It pushed away the darkness where it landed, and dots of light started filling the dark space. Her voice wasn't raised a bit, yet seemed so much stronger than Kyouko's.

"Why!'?" Kyouko didn't want to be saved by Hitomi. The only thing she lived for besides herself was Sayaka, and if she was brought back to life by Hitomi, there was no way she'd have even the slightest chance with the blunette. "I hate you! I _detest_you! Why would you save me!'?"

Hitomi came up to her, bringing her face inches from the tainted mass that was Kyouko. The green-haired girl didn't mind the exposed bone or the grueling smell in the slightest, but smiled with serenity and kindness. The room started to be taken over by light, the dark liquid pushed further and further back.

"Two reasons. On one hand, I won't idly stand by to watch someone die. Not when I can do something about it."

Kyouko craved more anger, more fire to fuel the darkness within her that wanted out. But Hitomi's presence suppressed it, and the poor soul could only stare emptily at its savior.

"You're a fucking hero. Just like her."

The other soul put her hands on Kyouko's shoulders, and white oil dripped down the redhead's body. Unlike the black substance, it was searing hot. It seeped into her wounds and closed them, bringing her frozen body back to life. Hitomi leaned even closer, and only grimaced slightly as she felt the black oil from Kyouko's shoulders eat through her own hands.

"Yes, I am." Her tone of voice changed and became malicious and harsh. This clashed with the soft eyes that only promised love and sympathy, and Kyouko couldn't breathe anymore. "On the other hand, what do you think Sayaka will think of me after I risk my life to save you?"

In that moment, back in the physical world, the darkness that filled Kyouko's Soul Gem poured over into Hitomi's. The green-haired girl embraced the anger and frustration, neutralized it with her own untainted energy. Just like when a Grief Seed absorbs a Puella Magi's negative energy, another Soul Gem now did the same. The end result was that Hitomi collapsed on the ground, her green jewel now moderately dirtied. The gem in Kyouko's hand looked purer, and its frame was no longer broken.

Homura and Sayaka witnessed this, eyes wide in disbelief. The time traveler stepped forward, inspecting the panting girl lying on her back in the mud. She looked pleased with herself, a runner after a marathon.

"What the hell did you just do?"

"Equalization..." coughed Hitomi, opening one eye and peering at the two girls. She had the nastiest headache and a foul taste in her mouth, but she was happy. The rain kept falling, clearer with each drop. The battle was won. There had been no casualties.

**-I-**

Homura was immediately taken aback with how immaculate the room looked. There wasn't as much as a trace of trash, and the floor was squeaky clean.

"So she kept going on about how Soul Gems were basically two-way Grief Seeds or something. If one gem is more tainted than the other, and if the person with the better gem has enough mental strength, then the amount of negative energy in them will equalize and become even. I have no idea how she knows this-"

"Homura?" Kyouko lay leisurely in her caramel-colored couch, a Pocky nonchalantly stuck in the corner of her mouth. The redhead looked at her friend amusedly, who became aware that she was rambling.

"...sorry. So you're really leaving?"

"Ain't got much choice, as I see it. That bitch saved my life, regardless of whether I wanted it or not. She's like Sayaka, Hom. All heroic and considerate, but a real schemer at heart."

Homura walked across the room, stopping by the large window that overlooked the city of Mitakihara. It was a nice evening, a little cloudy, but otherwise pleasant.

"It sounds like you're giving up."

"Me? Hell no! I just...Homura, I'm sick and tired of this. When we were fighting the Walpurgisnacht...I haven't had that much fun in months. All I want is a home, food on my plate and some witches to kill."

"And Sayaka." The raven-haired girl leaned her forehead against the cool glass, the chilling feeling spreading through her head.

"And Sayaka. But you know what? Getting caught between Hitomi and me will just make her unhappy. And I love her too much to do that to her."

"How noble. You don't think leaving will make her unhappy then?"

"Fuck me, Homura, why are you making this so hard?"

"Because I don't want you to leave."

There was silence. Homura didn't particularly care how the comment was interpreted, she just wanted to get it out there. Because the truth was, Kyouko was the only person she could talk to about the whole love debacle. They were very much the same, the two. Behind her, she could hear the subtle giggling.

"D'aww, isn't that cute? Getting a bit attached to me, are we now?"

"You can't take anything seriously, can you?"

"Didn't I tell you not to be so damn serious all the time? In this very room too." There was shuffling as Kyouko rolled of the couch and crawled onto her feet. She walked up alongside Homura, giving her friend a joking nudge with her elbow. "Eh?"

"We don't listen to each other, do we?"

"Not really. But hey, I'll be back, you can count on it."

"You sure?" The time traveler turned around and leaned her back against the window instead. She glanced over at Kyouko, who smiled at her with the crimson eyes gleaming knowingly.

"Yeah. Love of my life is here, a couple of my best and only friends are here. I'll definitely be back."

"I'm glad to hear it."

They stood like that for awhile, wrapped in the perfect silence that they were capable of forming. They studied the sharp shadow cutouts on the floor, and none of them felt the need to say anything at the moment.

"You could come with me." Kyouko broke the biscuit stick in half and ate the two pieces, and then proceeded to pull up a bottle of green energy drink from her pocket, unscrew the lid and take a good five gulps of the lukewarm liquid. "You know, take a break from the whole Madoka thing. You and me, road trip 'cross the country, getting on each other's nerves. How about it?"

Homura considered the offer, she really did. She imagined herself in the back of a bus or a taxi, laughing leisurely with the cheerful redhead who probably shouldn't have had _that _much to drink. She knew that none of them drank, but her mind was associating freely and it honestly wasn't that hard to picture.

She then thought about Madoka. _Her_ Madoka, the person she had swore to protect across the stretches of time, the person she loved with every cell in her body, the person who now was falling in love with someone else. She imagined coming back to Mitakihara after X amount of months, just to find the two in a healthy relationship.

"I...don't think so, Kyou."

"I figured you wouldn't." Kyouko mumbled, having at least the decency to sound disappointed. "What was with that pause?

"Mm?" Homura scratched the back of her head idly, giving the redhead an inquisitive look.

"We both know you'd never do something like that. I was just being polite. So why the hesitation?"

"I didn't hesitate."

"You did." Kyouko put her hands on her hips and gave Homura an unwavering stare. The time traveler sighed loudly, wondering if her friend were purposely looking for ways to make her look like an idiot.

"I just got a mental image, is all." They both knew it wouldn't stop at that.

"Image?"

"I mean...I find it funny that the two of us met like we did, and at that point we were already in love with other people."

"And...?" Kyouko thoroughly enjoyed making Homura go all shy, a complete 180 to the personality she usually showed.

"And...I was wondering what had happened if we two had...you know, got together." Again, Homura wasn't a person that cared how she was interpreted, other than in very specific cases. This was one of them, exposed to Kyouko's infuriating grin.

"Yeah? So what about the image?" The time traveler wondered if it was normal to wanting to hit your friends in the face. But she then realized that the way she was acting was the reason that Kyouko was so insistent. "Anything kinky?"

With a great deal of self-restraint, Homura groaned in equal amounts of frustration and weariness. In spite of this, she felt the rare sense of laughter bubble up her throat, and she was struck once against with how utterly raw Kyouko could be.

"You are such a horrible person." Homura muttered matter-of-factly, letting in to the temptation of a forgiving smirk.

"So I've heard. Well, I better get going. People might start looking for me, and I can only handle one heartfelt farewell a year." With this, the redhead walked across the room. She took a look around, pleased with what she saw. "Homura, do you think you could look after my apartment for me?"

"Say what?"

"Well, not to be rude, but your place is a little crappy. Practical, I'm sure, but...wouldn't this suit you better now that you don't have to plan large-scale battles anymore?"

"Kyouko...did you clean this place up for me?" Homura kept her voice free from skepticism, which caused Kyouko to smile sheepishly.

"The things you do for a friend, eh?"

"Indeed. Now that I think about it, I've been meaning to ask you: How did you get of a hold of this apartment?"

The door didn't make the slightest noise as it was opened. With a flick of her hair, a very familiar gesture that had Homura reaching instinctively at her back, Kyouko turned on her heel.

"Funny story, that."

Then the door slammed shut behind her, leaving Homura all alone in her new apartment. With a condescending shake of her head, the raven-haired girl turned around and looked out the window once more, knowing full well that she would end up missing the foul-mouthed, wolf-like Puella Magi.

**-I-**

Homura leaned back behind her desk, sighing contently. It was nice to feel at ease, that nagging feeling that you could never relax pleasantly absent. She could hear her classmates do the same, and a low buzz immediately began to grow among the female population. There was talk about what they were doing to do on the warm Friday, what plans they had for the weekend, and other such trivial matters.

Madoka and Sayaka came up to her, the latter nudging the raven-haired girl lightly on the shoulder. It was weird, how the blunette had been treating her nicely all day.

"You awake there, Homura?"

"Let's go, Homura-chan."

Homura Akemi got up, suppressing a yawn. She looked at her two friends, Madoka her bright, energetic self and Sayaka with an amused smirk playing on her lips. The three left the classroom, and eventually walked out into the soft sunlight, a veil of thin clouds easing the impact of the blinding light.

The spring had been unleashed properly, and flowers had erupted out of the trees and painted the entire landscape in pink and yellow and red. Against the lush green grass of the city, the brown trunks and their colorful crowns made a walk through the park an experience in and of itself.

"So, Kyouko really did leave?" This statement completely cut Madoka off, who had been going on a happy tangent on how much she loved the current time of year. It had been genuinely inspiring, but the other two weren't in the mood.

"Yesterday, in the evening."

"Huh. Wish she'd said goodbye to us too."

"You know Kyouko, it's not exactly her style to be so tactful." Homura laughed, the memory of their farewell still clear as crystal and just as sharp.

"I suppose."

"You okay, Homura-chan?" Madoka asked considerately, hands behind her back.

"Me? It was Sayaka who went out with her every other night."

"True, but you and her always seemed closer." Out of the corner of her eye, Homura saw Sayaka nod agreeingly.

"Really? Sayaka?"

"Well, she was more like a teacher to me than anything else. A friendly one, but nevertheless. You two, despite your bickering, always acted like actual friends. So...sure, I don't like to see her go, but we guessed that you would be more affected by it."

_If Kyouko had heard that... _Homura thought gloomily. The fact that they had assumed something of the sort also said a lot about how the she was perceived nowadays. Gone was the emotionless attitude she had built up, replaced by a cool and natural state that was more factual than anything else. The other Homura was quiet, had been for the last two days, and the time traveler was hoping that she had come to peace with herself.

"Homura-chan?"

"Hm?...excuse me, I'm a little tired."

"We're sorry for bringing it up, Homura." Sayaka said, obviously with the assumption that mentioning the redhead made their friend depressed. She wasn't too far off, even if wasn't the reason for Homura's distracted manners. The raven-haired girl didn't feel like further explaining herself.

The group crossed a decorative bridge over a glittering stream of water, their feet clunking hollowly against the wood. All of them were tired, mostly because of yesterday's efforts. They came to the point where Sayaka and Madoka's paths split, and the pinkette and Homura said goodbye to their cheerful friend. The time traveler could somewhat understand Sayaka's mood, in that she never got to know how Kyouko felt about her. In Sayaka's mind, the rude mentor had merely been a friend. And perhaps the blow was somewhat lessened by the fact that Kyouko could've been dead. And maybe...

Homura suddenly realized what she was doing, walking lost in thought beside Madoka. She was trying to figure out why Sayaka wasn't upset. Meaning, she _wanted _her to be upset. Because if she was, then it would be a sign that Kyouko had made a mistake leaving.

_But she isn't upset. In trying to be considerate, Kyouko ended up belittling her own feelings. She put Sayaka first, and now...now Sayaka is happy._

The thought struck the troubled teenager like lightning. The similarities between her and Kyouko's situation and the results all came together in what should've been an obvious revelation.

_Madoka will be happy with Mami, now that she's sane again. Don't I want her to be happy?_

While walking down the streets, cars roared by them like bullets. They shone in the sun, casting flickering reflexes around them. Madoka was humming a short melody, presumably some form of theme music. Homura was walking in the complete opposite direction of both of her apartments, and neither of the girls were aware of it.

_Why does it have to be like this? Why is my awful situation a requisite for Madoka's happiness? Hitomi confessed her love for Sayaka, Kyouko didn't. Swap Hitomi with Mami and Kyouko with me, and the same thing is even more prone to happen. Kyouko, I wish you would've told Sayaka about your feelings. At least then you would've known. Doesn't that bother you?_

"Madoka." Homura stopped abruptly, feeling very hot all of a sudden. The pink-haired girl turned her head, the strange song on her lips interrupted.

"Yes, Homura-chan?" The answer brimmed with an everyday interest, a healthy and friendly curiosity. The alleged transfer student averted her gaze, the sharp brilliance of her violet eyes becoming lost in nervousness.

"I have something to tell you." The sun was unbearable, its heat was like a blanket that threatened to suffocate the poor soul. Homura took a deep breath and pointed to a big tree studded with small, white flowers. It cast a pleasant shadow, the kind one could sleep in without a care in the world. "Could we...?"

Madoka understood and so nodded. She walked over to the assigned location without question, followed by her edgy classmate. With an innocent expression, she then tilted her head to the side almost unnoticeably, expectantly. Homura took a long, time-manipulated look at the way Madoka held her school bag; in front of her with both hands. She looked at the neat ribbons that decorated the pink hair, noting how carefully they were tied, and at the microscopic beads of sweat tricking down Madoka's forehead. Homura inspected every little part of the girl she had given up her soul for, and found that she loved every aspect of her. With a thousand thoughts crisscrossing through her mind, Homura Akemi confessed her love to Madoka Kaname_._

**-I-**

In another city, quite close to Mitakihara, a sleazily dressed girl with long, red hair walked through the streets. Her alert, crimson-colored eyes took in the sights, her hands constantly opening and closing as to keep them ready to snatch something she liked.

Not taking her eyes off the row of food stores, not for a second concentrating on anything but the quantities of fruit, meat and fish, the restless girl felt born anew. In the back of her head, a certain memory was played over and over. She let it brush past her consciousness with glee, amused and uplifted by it. It recalled a moment of intimacy; a spine-crushing hug from the person she loved being the first thing given to her after returning from the brink of corruption.

The girl let the memory fade away, and basked in the faint glow of the afternoon sun. She felt at peace and focused, the loud bustling of the crowds around her not bothering her in the slightest. In fact, crowds were a thief's best friend.

If home is where the heart is, Kyouko Sakura wouldn't start feeling homesick for another few months.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And that...is that. A few will probably raise an eyebrow at how I chose to end this story, but I wanted it to be about Kyouko and Homura, since they are my main characters. The continued relationships of the other characters are either predictable or irrelevant, and there no reason for me not to let you guys fill in the blanks yourself. I am aware that endings are the bane of almost every story, and I expect perhaps 50% of you to actually like this or find it satisfactory. But in the end, I think I did a good job with what I set out to do. So if you find yourself not liking the ending, too bad. I'm not trying to be snide, I'm being sincere. You can't make everyone happy.<strong>

**Also, Equalization is a mechanic I made up when I was discussing Grief Seeds. I assure you that it's not something I came up with just to save Kyouko. My normal amount of meta-science is as there as it's always been.**

**But enough of my rant. I'd like to thank you for sticking with the story, regardless of if you loved it, hated it, or didn't particularly care for it. This was my first successful chapter story, and I'm pretty pleased with the result. I can think of a billion things I could've done better, but I can also think of a few things I feel were nigh spot-on. And now? Well, I'll probably churn out some oneshots every now and then, but right now, I just want to relax. Take a fictional breather, so to speak.**

**What about you? Did you enjoy the story, or some certain part of it? If so, I'm always happy to hear it. And if all you want is to yell at me about all the things I did wrong...well, maybe it will make me a better author. Here's to hoping.**


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